Moonrush
by wolverinacullen
Summary: Abbey Bominable's first year in Salem has been a wild ride so far. From scheming slayers to vengeful vampires and seemingly everything in between, Romulus and his pack have been like second family. But as things heat up for the summer, their relationship, and her future in Salem, will be put to the test in a plot for revenge neither could've seen coming. (Sequel to White Wolf)
1. Chapter 1

_Moonrush_

_Chapter 1_

Rays of silver pierced the black between the trees. The darkness was alleviated in less than a heartbeat. I felt the muscles of my eyes focus, making out every tree and limb as I dashed through them. The stones should've been tough on my bare feet, but I was used to this path now. The brush of ferns across my legs matched the piercing swish of the air beside my ears. Splinters of light were momentarily blinding as I passed through them. They spiked my blood with fresh adrenaline. The sounds following me were hardly quiet. Every small animal within miles dashed away from our path. My legs burned. I leapt over a log, landing on my hands and feet and propelling myself forward that way. My spine felt ultra-flexible as my back unwound and I returned to my two feet. The sounds closed in. Twigs scraped my ankles, but I propelled myself forward regardless.

A tribal cry pierced my lips as I leapt through the trees and rolled in the wet grass. I tumbled down the incline, passing over a bramble of flowers among the field grass, until my feet found the gravelly banks of the riverbed. My skin was sweltering despite the crystal at the base of my throat and I leapt in freely. The clear water reflected the moon overhead. It was full and round, pure silver. It felt like a precious gem. I waded out to my waist and scooped up a cupped handful of water. Some fell into my mouth, some splashed my face and ran down the front of my shirt. I didn't care. It slid down my bare belly and rejoined the rest of the water.

Romulus burst out of the trees, a wide and wicked grin on his lips. He stopped his predatory run and straightened, the grin barely falling. His jeans rode low on his hips and his sleeveless black shirt left nothing to my imagination. He waded out to me as I cupped another handful of water and gulped it down. It was cold and fresh, rushing around my body freely.

His smile narrowed, becoming thin and warm as he looped his fingers through the belt loop of my shorts and tugged my body closer to his. The plaid shorts were a yellowy lime and purple, a slightly different shade than the cut-up top that barely covered any of my stomach. His damp hand plucked a leaf from under my headband. I rose on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck, "You need to pick up pace. You never going to catch deer like that."

"You don't run like a deer," he replied. He caught my chin and crushed his mouth onto mine. Warmth pooled in my center; I hitched my leg up against his hip and received the boost I needed to link my legs around his waist. In the past few months, I'd learned how strong he had gotten to be. His hand rested on my behind, claws poised to rip the new shorts away. I bit his lip in warning. His fingers wound in my streaked hair instead. I kissed him until I couldn't breathe, and when I broke away, he dropped the both of us into the cold water. I gasped in delight, pressing closer to him and tugging on his messy hair. His arm wrapped firmly around my waist, those warm and understanding lips pressing firmly to mine. Ever since the party, the moon had affected us the same way. My father had given up on trying to constrain me in the house on the full moon after the first month. With the water rushing around my body and his, our clothes soaked and our bodies pressed together, I could've given anything to keep this moment to just the both of us.

Instead, Rocco burst through the trees and leapt into the nearly still banks a few feet downstream. Kate and the others burst out after him, laughing and howling more loudly than they did at any other time. Against my will, I forced myself to unwind from Romulus, but he refused to leave me. He continued peppering wet kisses to my neck and damp collarbone. I was soaked up to my shoulders, and if it wasn't for the stone ledge under my behind, I would've gone deeper. The ends of my hair were soaked too. It was going to be a fun walk home, that was for sure.

"Hey, Rom, you really should charge for those porn shows!" she called.

He withdrew to growl at her, echoed by one of her own. I wrapped my fingers in his shirt, about to defend her when he sunk his teeth into my neck. They pierced the skin, but for some reason I didn't feel pain. Instead, I pulled him closer and let out a howl of pure euphoria. A few of the others returned quiet howls and yips of understanding and enthusiasm. The wolfen marking ritual was romantic in the roughest way possible, but it did the job of claiming the alpha's mate. Whether it was instinct or tradition, Romulus did it well.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my head back while he kissed away the blood he'd drawn. The moon stirred my appetite for life and for some strange reason, brought me the calm that filled my body at that moment.

"Rom!" Kate shouted. The silver light faded from my eyes long enough for my hands to find the slippery stone and pull myself away from my boyfriend just a bit. With his reverie broken, he could see that the water was becoming sluggish and my skin was turning blue. I smiled and crawled to the bank, laying down and clasping my hand around my crystal. The warm air dispelled a lot of the frost from my skin, but Luken and Deugi still threw their shirts. I folded them and used them to prop up my head.

Romulus followed me out of the water and laid among the pack in our clearing. Once the water had returned to its natural temperature, a few of them dashed in to join Rocco in swimming. As usual, Kate came over to me and laid on her side. "Nice going Rom, you almost killed the one I like."

"Katie, you know what I'm about to say," he replied, his eyes up on the navy blue darkness above us.

"So don't make you say it. God, you sound like my old man."

As much as I knew he wanted to pretend he was offended, he smiled. The past few months had been good for the siblings; they'd gotten closer to their stepfather and I'd gotten closer to them. The world as Monster High knew it was at peace.

I stretched out and rolled my shoulders backward slowly. Now that our adrenaline had dampened for the most part, I felt like a house pet. I had eaten and I had played, now it was time for a nap.

"Go ahead," Romulus murmured as he took my hand, "I'll drive you home."

"You never offer to drive me home," Kate said, climbing over the both of us.

"Then I'd have to offer to drive everyone home, and my truck doesn't hold that many people." While Romulus had helped me understand American tact, he had apparently learned from his past mistakes. I still half-expected him to tell her off at times. Still, she laid down and made herself comfortable with his stomach as a pillow. He glanced to me, but I couldn't stop smiling. "What?"

"This is our family," I replied, squeezing his hand. He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I didn't get to pick them either."

"Woohoo!" Rocco cheered as Deugi lifted him up and suddenly body-slammed him into the water. Kate sprung to her feet, "Deugi!"

The ferns rustled as the Wolf pack came wandering out. Howleen cut her siblings off at the last moment, trailed by her brothers. Clawdeen growled, "_Howleen! _Those are my sandals! You are not taking my sandals in the river! _HOWLEEN!_"

Clawd sat beside us, his exasperation obvious, "Hey."

"Hey," Romulus replied, "Parents over at my place?"

He nodded and shifted onto his back slowly.

"Draculaura wearing you out, man?" Romulus teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Probably not like Abbey wears you out, Old Yeller." This time, I laughed. Romulus knew better than to reply for his own reputation's good. Instead, he shifted to place his arm under my head. I took his other hand and nestled into his side.

"You're freezing," he murmured, rub-warming my shoulder.

"Was that pun?" I replied, kissing his warm shoulder. He smelled earthy and warm, a very rich, spicy, Romulus smell. He turned onto his side and crushed me in the embrace of a muscular teddy bear. I could've purred if I knew how. My hands ran up his chest, cooling him and warming myself. It was when my cold toes pressed into his legs that he jumped, "Damn, Abbey. That crystal doesn't fuck around."

Clawd snorted. He was used to this by now. Very gently, I tucked my head under his chin and nestled myself against him as closely as I possibly could. Our friends and packmates were howling and carrying on like children, leaving the three of us alone in our lounging on the grass. I must've drifted off under the pale moonlight, because when I woke, I was being stirred with kisses. His warm skin pressed against mine. I opened my eyes and sat up, surprised to find the both of us alone.

"They just left," he murmured, "I'd carry you, but I'm tired too. Hopefully Clawd's parents left already, or I'm sleeping in your barn or something." He rose and dusted off his jeans, shaking out his hair to make sure anything living was expelled from it. I combed my fingers through the ends and nudged his elbow with my own, "Or you could come inside and spend night anyway."

He scoffed, "Your dad would try to kill me if I asked."

I smiled, "Never said you had to ask."

The sneaking around behind my parents' back had become so regular that it became routine for me. Grace knew, because mothers knew everything, but my father was none the wiser and between the three of us, I didn't think he would be until I had gone to college.

"We've gotta be responsible about it sometime," he said, trailing off a bit ahead of me.

I sighed, climbing logs and brushing my feet over tender ferns. My ankles ached from the cut of the twigs and rough bark, and the pads of my feet stung from the rocks and the earth. We reached his truck at the edge of the woods and I climbed in wordlessly.

"What is there to be responsible of?" I asked, "You are coming over to see me. Half time, we don't even do things."

"Yeah, but still. I feel like I'm invading your privacy. We're together all the time. I know when you go to the bathroom. I know when you sleep, when you eat, what you read..."

"So?" I replied. He _should_ know how badly my feet hurt. Sometimes I thought not wearing shoes was as bad of an idea as wearing shoes.

"So...I keep worrying that if I don't give you space, you'll find some reason to get rid of me." The genuine concern was so obvious I could see it in his face. I shrugged, "Have not found reason yet. If you have no reason to leave me, I have no reason to leave you."

He scoffed lightly and shook his head. I thought he might've spent a moment angry, but he just looked at me with amusement, "You're so fucking stubborn."

"Is why you love me," I replied. I was trying not to massage my feet, but they were throbbing. Maybe he would need to carry me somewhere.

When he pulled up at my house, the porch light was still on and his house across the street looked calm. I took off my seat belt and leaned over to kiss him, completely unsurprised when he returned it with a little more passion than I thought I was awake for. Warmth stirred in my center, but I was too tired and too sore to put it to any use.

"Goodnight," I murmured against his mouth. "Should I leave window open?"

He nodded. He'd be there, whether he talked about space or not. I stole another little kiss and climbed out. The pavement was cool and smooth, and I silently thanked the natural world for that. I shut the gate behind me and shuffled up to the door while he pulled in across the street. Both Grace and my father were up, obviously having expected me.

"Fun night with Rom?" she asked while grading summer school papers.

I nodded, "Ran with pack. Feet sore."

"Why don't you wear shoes?" she asked.

"Snag lace on twig, fall and die?" I replied. My father made a sound. I kissed both of them on the cheek and headed upstairs. My clothes were wrinkled from all the water, so they draped over the towel bar over the air conditioning vent while I took a shower. Wearing only a new pair of underwear and Romulus's shirt, I crawled into my bed and rested my sore feet. Too tired to do much else, I didn't even turn on the TV. Shiver's snoring was almost enough to put me to sleep, but I heard the window raise before long. Still dripping wet, Romulus crawled inside in his sweatpants and crossed the floor to my bed. He crawled in beside me and pulled the blanket up over the both of us.

My head fell to his chest, "Love you."

He brushed my hair off my face and held me tightly, "I love you too, Abbey."

I barely had the strength to smile, but when I did, I fell asleep with it on my face.

_A/N- God I didn't mean to start this now. I've just had a recent influx of love for my werewolves again (thank you, Teen Wolf) and I ended up on this. I might just end up writing both or alternating or something like that, but hey, it's summer. I have time. :) I don't make promises to update every day, but I will update SOMETHING every day. It will update pretty frequently though, so, hop on board and enjoy the ride. Welcome to White Wolf parte deux._


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Summer had a way of making time disappear. I slept until way past it was comfortable and woke up to find Romulus gone; he had to escape before his family noticed him gone. I got ready quickly and went downstairs. It was quiet. The door to Grace's study was closed and who knew where my father was. I pulled out the container of pancakes and put them in the microwave. With a little whipped cream and syrup in the container with them, I grabbed a fork out of the drawer and my empty backpack from the hall closet. My wallet was still inside, lending to a day of doing _something_. I slid my feet into sandals and slipped out before I could be missed.

No sooner had I stepped off the porch before I heard, "Where you think you're going?"

I took a bite of my pancakes and looked at my father with my most innocent expression possible, "Shopping with friends."

"You going far?" he asked while working on the fixer-upper car he managed to find. At this point, I had no idea why he hadn't just brought a fully grown mammoth.

"Main street," I replied. The earth was still soaked, so it had probably rained in the hours I'd been asleep. He nodded, peeling the worn out interior from the seat he was working on. Upon his attention being distracted, I attempted to slip away again.

"You be home by dinner, understood?" he said without looking up.

"Yes, Papa," I replied, making my way out the gate and down toward the corner.

Venus and the others were seated at the base of the large tree at the edge of Romulus's block, smoking and giggling. As I neared them, I caught scent of the contents of the faux-cigarette and wrinkled my nose. "Could kill you to put something good in it?"

"You won't be so worried about it at the concert, will you?" she asked, her glassy eyes dancing with mischief.

"Concert?" I asked as we were joined by my boyfriend.

"Surprise," he replied, kissing my cheek. I rose a brow, but he just continued to smile like I knew what he was talking about. "There's a music festival coming up, it's gonna be downtown. They're having some indie bands, some punk bands...and, your favorite, _Himalayan Yak Band_."

My jaw nearly dropped at his casually placed fact. As he smiled, I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him, "I love you!"

"I love you too," he replied. His eyes glinted warmly, a deep, warm emerald. They glistened like newly minted leaves after a rainstorm, and he grasped my hand enthusiastically. "What are we doing today?"

I shrugged, "Having breakfast?"

Venus burst into laughter. He waved at her as we headed off for the park to have a place to sit while I finished my food. Half the pack or more were already there, hassling the vendors for more food and climbing on the kids' jungle gym. Rocco and some girl were hanging out on the carousel. Kate was on a bench, out of breath and looking comfortable in a pair of sweatpants and a yellow guy's undershirt. She beamed at us with exhilarated content, "Did you hear?"

"Just told her," he replied, sitting on the opposite side of the bench so I was forced to sit between them.

"No, about the vampires." Her eyes glinted in a way that made me think she had some sort of amazing revelation in store, but instead, she just glanced over toward them.

They were having a picnic on the far side of the park, four or five of them. They were wrapped in Civil War era gloves and shawls and hats. I laughed to myself, stretching out in an effort to make my frost-glazed skin catch the sun in a way theirs never would. I bet they were hotter than Heath with no air conditioning. If their attention had been attracted, it was gone in a flash. The pigeons scattered as Ghoulia's scooter pulled up to the curb and she waved over Frankie from the far side of the park. I drank down the syrup and returned my attention to Kate, "What about vampires?"

She glanced to me in confusion before the thought returned, "Oh. Right. Guess who's coming back to Monster High in the fall?"

I raised a brow. She nodded toward the group, causing Romulus to pay more attention. Regardless of whether it mattered or not, I glanced toward them and narrowed my eyes against the sun. My eyes were forced to adjust to the shadows, and after a moment, I made out the faces of Bram Devein and Gory Fangtell, one other girl from school, and Valentine.

...

The art shop was full of odds and ends that no one could find anywhere, which was partially why Kate liked to drag me there. Romulus hung out outside on the painted bench with an ice cream. I ran my fingers over beaded eyeball bracelets and wandered around past humorous signs. Kate browsed tunics and little silver baubles, so when I finally came up to her with an abstract necklace on a teal chain, I took note of the clothes draping over her arm.

"You have boyfriend?" I teased.

She went red. They were pricey and individualized, probably not the kind of thing one redid their wardrobe with unless they had a good reason. I smirked and nudged her, "Do I know him?"

"You might," she replied. Her tone was vague enough for me to understand that she didn't want me to know, yet not territorial enough to keep me from teasing.

"Hope you are happy," I said. I picked up a jewelry holder and turned it over in my hand. She turned toward me and began holding up clothes for my opinion. I shrugged at most of them; I spent enough time in her house to know her, but not enough time in her closet to know what she liked to wear.

I would like to think I had two best friends. Kate was one of the first people I considered my friend. She tied me to the pack away from Romulus. Friendship with her was easy; she didn't care about censoring herself around me, and I didn't care about messing up around her. Frankie Stein was the other, but our friendship was a little more obviously rooted in our positions in the social hierarchy. I adored them both, but being around Kate felt a little more natural.

"I am," she replied, distracted by similar abstract charms. After a careful selection of two, and their subsequent chains, she carried her load up to the counter. I followed in silence, stealing a brief glance of longing toward the ice cream in Romulus's hands. She took the charm and jewelry holder from me and gently set them on top of her clothes. I glanced to her with complete surprise, but she just smiled. I pulled out my wallet, which she immediately clasped shut. "You buy dinner, I got this."

I took out money anyway, "Can't stay for dinner. Parents want me home." Hopefully I didn't carry the trace smell of Venus. Kate took the cash and tucked it away, and though the feud was over, I saw her stiffen up as a pair of vampire girls wandered in, followed by the two from lunch.

"Ooh, Rose!" one gushed as she touched one of the charm necklaces, "This is positively _tribal_."

The one I assumed was Rose glanced back with a jewelry holder like my own, "Wouldn't you love this for your rings?"

While the one whose name I didn't know wandered about, I nudged Kate. Gory Fangtell was staring directly at us, a little smile dawning on her fiercely feline features. She produced her clutch wallet from her little lace purse and produced a pair of crisp, neatly-folded bills, waiting behind us. When the woman behind the counter began to speak Kate's total, the vampire reached between us and silently set the cash down, "Consider it a gift."

The two vampires at the opposite side of the shop stopped talking. We were as surprised as they were. "What are you doing?" Kate asked, clearly at a loss for anything better to say.

"We were incredibly cruel to each other around Halloween. I never officially tried to apologize. Consider it a token of truce." Her red lips moved elegantly, but I found it hard to believe the words that were coming out, even if it had been eight months ago. For all I knew, they had werewolf friends. Still, maybe it was the fact that she had every intention to kill us and never voiced her remorse for a second, I had chills looking at her. They weren't the good kind.

"Thanks," Kate replied. She offered up some of the cash she was going to spend in return, but the vampiress simply shook her head. "We'll do lunch sometime or something."

"Well, I wonder if Bram decided to make you play nice," the unnamed girl said as she examined candles. The twins giggled. Gory smiled slowly, as elegant of an aristocrat as any out of place nobility could be.  
"He didn't have to."

Romulus took up the doorway, staring at the both of us uneasily. Kate took her bag and handed Gory her change with a quiet, dual murmur of her thanks. The vampiress smiled to us both and made her way to the basket behind us, lifting an eclectic little painted box as if we had never been there. No goodbyes exchanged, no plans to meet up, only unease between the lot of us. As we left, though, I could hear the girls burst into mocking laughter. I could hear her piercing voice in my mind, _there go the dogs with their tails between their legs_, and I only slid my arm through my best friend's to tug her off to safety.

Silently, she pressed my money into my hand. I paused at the corner to take my gems too, and I dumped my wallet in my bag with my heart beating so loudly in my ears that it scared me to breathe.

"Coffee?" Kate asked as if it would solve all of our problems.

I just nodded, because the coffee place had great food and I was burning energy thinking of the fight or flight instinct that kicked into overdrive whenever I laid eyes on those vampires.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

My father wanting me at home for dinner hadn't dampened anything. Instead, the whole lot of us returned to my place for food and video chatting the people we weren't with.

"Kate's got a date with Andy Beast," Ashley teased from the foot of my bed while she touched up the streaks in my hair. Kate, with her hair freshly cut and in her new clothes, shot her friend a look while using my webcam for a mirror. She painted her lips a deep, bright pink that made me think of the nineteen eighties. Shiver was lounging across Romulus's lap, and he was the only guy in our festival of girls.

"You know what I can't shake?" she asked, painting her lips from their full middle outward.

"That you should've bought more jewelry, Bohemia?" Ashley teased. Kate draped a brass colored circlet chain around the front of her head and smoothed the burlap colored frock. It was like a long shirt with a tiny breast pocket and a braided rope belt in a darker shade of brown. She wore it with tights the color of wet earth and brass colored gladiator sandals and chunky beaded jewelry. She really liked him.

"He's a jungle boy, Katie. He doesn't care what you're wearing, so long as he gets to rip it off," Romulus replied.

She rolled her eyes and gazed once again into my mirror, "How freaky the Fangs were acting."

It effectively silenced the rest of us. Somehow, the vampires still managed to put the fear of the unknown into the pack, even though it had been centuries since the slavery of their-_our_-kind existed. With Ashley's skilled fingers working my hair over, I shrugged, "They are vampires. We do not understand them and they do not understand us. We co-exist. Someone was going to have to be nice sooner or later."

"Vampires don't just play nice, Abbey," Kate said, finally withdrawing from her reflection to look at me, "Especially not those vampires. They want something."

"Maybe for you to stop disgracing their gypsy ancestors," Romulus replied. The tension of her words was effectively cracked. Ashley shot him a look, "Careful, Moon, or I'll dye your hair too."  
"I'll take the blue." He grinned with his pearly teeth visible, making Ashley roll her eyes. Kate gathered up her makeup and things and turned back toward us, "I'm just saying. It's better to be suspicious than dead."

Romulus scoffed. "Did that work last time?"

There wasn't a more horrible feeling in the world than being poisoned. Three of us knew that. Ashley broke our mutual understanding and grasped my hair, "Time to wash out."

"You just put it in," I objected.

"Trust me." I did, so I followed her into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the water in the bathtub. She leaned against the counter while I washed out the color from the base of my neck down. We didn't chat like old friends were supposed to when they did each other's hair. Kate was touching up whatever she needed to do, and when Ashley had put my hair dyes away and admired her finished product, they both grabbed their bags to leave.

"Not staying for dinner?" I asked.

"I'll see if Andy won't mind going early," Kate replied.

Ashley just shrugged, "Hey, I don't want to intrude on alpha time."

Romulus rolled his eyes, but I found the gesture sweet. They saw themselves out and left the both of us alone. I climbed onto my bed and brushed the sopping ends of my hair until he put Shiver gently on the floor and came to join me. "Should I cut my hair?" I asked, partially serious and partially just looking for a reaction.

He shrugged and rested his head on my chest. "Whatever makes you happy."

I set down my brush and laid back on a stray pillow. My fingers ran lovingly through his hair, soothing his obvious tension. His feet hung off my bed, but slowly, he pulled them up. He turned onto his stomach began placing warm, hungry kisses to my exposed collarbone. I trailed my claws over his neck, something I knew he loved, and slid them back up into his hair so they grazed his ear. His eyes burned as they met mine. I read him better without words. He was tense, so I wanted to relieve it. I nudged my knee between his, bringing him just a little closer to me. He growled very softly, "Abbey..."

I kissed his neck. My lips were cool against his warm skin, and he arched in pleasure as my knee nudged his thighs in rubbing between them. I traced my mouth to his shoulder, kissing and nipping his skin until he drew away quickly. His eyes were blazing and he shifted to try to hide the evidence of his pleasure, but I knew. I smirked. He blinked, trying to relieve the physical need. I sat up and wrapped my arms around his neck, nuzzling in and kissing the way he did when he wanted me.

"Stop," the command was firm. I pouted, drawing back and moving away. "You get so bipolar on full moons," I teased, laying across my bed. In my shorts and the thin ice blue shirt I was wearing, I must've tempted him just a little. He chuckled breathlessly, "I want you so bad, but I could hurt you right now. Can't you do this to me after midnight?"

"You fall asleep on me," I continued to tease.

"Your parents are home," he lowered his voice as if they'd gotten any closer.

"I can lock the door," I whispered in return. He was torn, I could see it in his eyes. I sighed and sat up, moving to the edge of the bed and beckoning him closer, "Then I just take care of you and we not play now."

He was about to protest when his ears twitched, and he took up residence in my desk chair across the room. I sensed my father's approach in the dropping temperature and shifted, tossing the pillow back among the rest. We were both looking at the door before he'd opened it. It unnerved him from the beginning.

"Dinner is ready soon," he said, looking pointedly at my boyfriend as if to threaten bodily harm if anything physical were going on between us.

"What're we having?" he replied.

"Food." My father treated the general question as if it were sarcasm and pulled the door shut behind him. I couldn't stop myself from giggling. After his presence had faded, Romulus came back to my side. "Man of few words, isn't he?"

"He likes you," I teased. We cuddled into my pillows, wrapped closely in each others arms. I placed my warm little kisses to his jaw and ran my hands over his chest. He seemed relieved. "You don't have to be worried," I murmured against his skin, "Vampires strange, but not going to hurt you."

"I wish I could be as sure as you," he murmured. His fingers traced my spine slowly, the both of us so relieved that my head dropped to his shoulder and I felt little beyond the urge to curl into the warmth of his body and allow him to keep me at a higher temperature than my norm. He rubbed my back, his eyes lowering gradually until his ears perked up and his eyes flew open like a puppy about to be caught doing business in a shoe. My mother opened the door and smiled, nodding toward the hall to summon us both. I sighed and pushed myself up, "Already?"

"You can sleep after," she replied. I didn't entirely understand how my mother was so calm around teenagers when it seemed like every other teacher in the world- Monster High included- saw us as terrifying. There weren't any rules against affection at the school, which left a lot of adults awkwardly floundering in the presence of couples. The regulations on fighting and things that human schools deemed zero-tolerance had more of a method of mediation with her. She was smarter than a lot of them, though. I knew she knew what she was doing.

We joined them in the kitchen and pulled up seats beside each other, leaving some table space empty. My father looked at us with such intense seriousness that it was funny.

"It looks great, Ms. Bloodgood," Romulus said to break the slightly uneasy silence.

Grace smiled at him. Her eyes flicked to my father, cautioning him to behave. We ate in silence for what seemed like an eternity before she broke the silence herself. "So, Romulus, what are you planning on doing this summer?"

My boyfriend shrugged, "Probably a summer job, actually. I'm looking around, but it doesn't seem like anybody's hiring. I'll probably end up with Wolf Construction again."

Again? My brows lifted as I looked at my boyfriend and realized that he had only been a short distance away this entire time. Granted, there hadn't been much of a time gap between my arrival and his, but it still felt undoubtedly mystic that the distance gap would close so quickly between us. He smiled slightly like he knew what I was thinking.

"You having lots of private conversations," my father grumbled, "What 'bout?"

"Ivan," Grace exhaled. The way they treated each other, it was as if they'd been married for the entire time they had been apart. She loved him, despite being exasperated with him almost constantly, and he acted like an eight year old boy around her. Especially when it came to other people's business.

"Honestly, we're just trying to figure out why the vampires started being nice to us earlier. I mean it's not like we haven't had a truce for a long time, it's just that they've never gone out of their way to be nice to us before." Romulus was candidly honest, and it made me love him a little more.

My mother seemed equally as understanding. "Perhaps the Halloween incident took a toll on their conscious. It's better late than never."

"Those vampires?" my father asked. His voice seemed to get even more thunderous as he thought of them. I sighed and so did my mother. "Those little-"

"Ivan," Grace cut him off, "Stop. Now. I'm not going to listen to this and neither will they. Those kids have been nothing but the picture of goodness since, and I'm not about to hear that they should pay for a mistake they made months ago now."

"Why were they not arrested?" my father growled, "In old country, you want to kill someone, you do it, or they get chance to go kill you."

"Honestly, Mr. Bominable, we wouldn't have killed them. We started the whole thing, they were the ones getting revenge."

I wished there had been a universal symbol for _my parents didn't know about that._ Both of them sat up and looked at me. I sunk slightly in my chair, causing Romulus to take the reigns for the entire conversation. "Abbey and I had nothing to do with it. Some guys in the pack started something with them and it escalated really quickly. They were pretty justified trying to get back at us."

"How justified?" Grace asked. We were skating on thin ice without control, and I had the horrible feeling we were about to fall and crash through.

"They almost killed one of them."

My father sat back and regarded Romulus coldly. I could already feel the metaphorical icy water pouring over my head and decided that it was probably better if I just sat there and closed my eyes and let it drown me. Grace looked at me grimly. I couldn't see her. I pretended I didn't know they were trying to assess what they should do, even if it was months done. His fingers found mine under the table. We sat in silence for a very long time until he kissed my cheek and pulled away, "I gotta go home. I should get the ice cream out of Remus's system." We had that much code worked out; he'd be back later. I should leave the window unlocked. Without opening my eyes, I let go of his hand and I let him slip away. I was floating there in still water, left alone to fend for myself.

"Abbey," Grace murmured, "Why didn't you tell us?"

I shrugged. Because I'd been in control of my skates then, and the last thing I had needed was for anyone to help me when I could help myself.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Daciana and Valentine perched on one of our chairs with more relaxation than we had seen in months. Her fingers ran slowly through his hair, messing up the carefully contrived strands. I simply smiled, "So, you'll do it then?"

"Of course," she purred, "And with me here, our little friend won't get out of line like he did last time."

Valentine rolled his eyes scornfully. I smiled, taking a sip of the warmly mixed bloodwine, "Good. I don't want any incidents with my friends this time."

Daciana laughed, "You must be joking. Those freaks are your friends? Whatever happened to Gory Fangtell? The most powerful woman who was here only to conquer?"

I glanced to Bram and shrugged, "I got married."

She rolled her eyes but remained blissfully quiet for my sake. As much as Rose and Blanche adored her, there were times when I simply couldn't stand Daciana; but for now, that was beside the point. She was the woman I needed for the job. "Just scare them," I said, "Don't kill anyone."

"Because you did that so well before," she replied. Her voice was full of acid; her voice made me want to skin her. I nearly rose, but Bram gently grasped my hand. Valentine shot us a look of exasperation before looking after her, "Shall we go, Di?"

She turned on her heel with a vivid smile. Her mocking eyes had been examining my things, giving me the urge to give her a bitingly insincere compliment. Somehow I still managed to hold my tongue as I rose, giving her a polite kiss on either cheek. She smiled a bit too warmly at Bram, his forced little smile her only reply. I kissed Val's cheek sympathetically before he followed her out like a dog.

"She almost makes me want to avoid this," I murmured as he shut the door and left the both of us alone.

"Nonsense," Bram replied. He picked up his hat and tossed mine over to me, an action that I found myself sighing at. I placed it on, tucking my hair behind my ears with one hand while my eyes sought for my purse. I found it on the corner sofa and produced the bottle of sunscreen from inside. I placed a little coating on my fingers to touch up my exposed skin. "She's going to make this much worse than it needs to be."

"Exactly." He crossed the room, taking the bottle from beside me and placing a little on his skin, "Which is exactly why we need her, _cara mia._"

I sighed and placed it back in my purse, "Shall we, _mon cher?_ I need to occupy myself before I can think up a pleasant way out of this."

He offered his arm with a small smile, "Don't think of it as badly as you do. It's just a little scare tactic to make sure it never happens again. You heard her. Even if the scare tactic is a little scarring, she doesn't intend to kill anyone, lest you kill her."

I scoffed, linking my arm with his. "Well isn't that an idea."

...

He hadn't been kidding when he said he intended to occupy me. With Val settling in, we decided to have him over for dinner for the third time this week, and I bought a cookbook on vampire-friendly Italian food to grocery shop with. We had settled on pumpkin and sage pasta primavera, a new concept to the both of us to say the very least.

"How about I grab a basket and get food supplies and you grab some storage things?" I asked him while browsing the page, "It's not particularly hard, I just need to get enough for all of us."

"Are you sure?" he asked with furrowed brows, "I don't want you pulling your shoulder like last time."

I blushed and swatted his arm, "Off with you, we'll never renovate properly if we can't pack."

He smirked and shook his head, "I'll meet you."

I nodded. The freezer section sent gooseflesh up the skin of my ankles as I passed each case. Once I was safely set in the isles absent of all cold but air conditioning, I paused. It was a strange thing, seeing the people I had just put a metaphorical hit on acting like normal people, but Romulus Moon was in the pasta isle with a gaggle of children under the age of graduating primary school. He held a little boy on his side while one little girl perched on the end and another sat in the basket, and a baby of no more than eight months sat in the belted section for them. He looked at a loss. Wordlessly, I picked up a box of chocolate rolls and set them down between the little girls, making them coo with delight. It attracted his attention, his bushy brows rising in surprise. "Gory?"

I nodded, "Need a hand?"

"Not...particularly."

He was right by the pasta I needed anyway, so I nodded toward it. He grabbed a box and passed it to me, making my smile a little more grateful. He pushed them forward, "So...do vampires eat?"

I tried not to laugh. "Yes, we do. I'm actually making dinner for my stepbrother, he's moved into town. Eros's old house."

"Yeah," he murmured, "I'm sorry to see Cupid go, but she'll have fun where she's needed."

The little pup on his side pulled his hair to get leverage and made him wince. It was a reflex, but I reached out and adjusted his arm to prop the little one up. He stared at me, the questioning where my knowledge had come from obvious. "It's not the first kid I've come across," I teased, "You're not that special."

The little boy looked at me with a mixture of shyness and gratitude that could only be described properly as reverence. I ruffled his hair, making him blush.

"You need help or anything?" Romulus asked. "I gotta meet up with my parents in a little bit, but..."

I shook my head. "No, thank you. I hope I didn't put off your friends any at the shop, I just...I've been feeling guilty. A lot guiltier than usual. I just wanted to apologize profusely for Halloween-"

He rolled his eyes, breaking into one of his characteristically charismatic smiles. "Don't worry about it. It's been a long time, there's nothing any of us can do now."

I tried to smile anyway, "I'd still like to try."

He shifted the little boy a bit closer to him and shrugged, "We'll see some other time. Thanks. And I hope whatever it is you're making turns out good."

I wanted to correct him, but somehow the improper grammar made me smile. "Thanks," I replied. I watched him go for no other reason than the comfort apologizing had brought me, even though my thoughts lingered on the knowledge I would continue apologizing profusely for a long while. Bram had too much pride to admit defeat the way I had. As I gathered the necessary ingredients bit by bit, I thought over calling off the plan entirely. There was no conquest to be brought in cruelty.

"I think I have everything," he said as he finally met me outside the refrigerated cases, picking up some extra berries for a snack. I could tell he was about to list off what he had, but he paused and looked at me intensely. "Are you alright? You don't look well."

"I'm guilt ridden," I murmured, "I'm tainted by grief. I'm horrified with myself. I think I'm making myself sick."

He reached out, prying the basket from my fingers and setting it gently in a plastic bin. "I can tell." He stepped away from our supplies and rubbed my upper arms, warming my skin and dispersing the guilt eating away at me bit by bit. "If you really don't want to go through with this, we don't have to."

I shook my head, "I saw Romulus with his family. That's going to be us one day. And I physically can't live with Daciana if she hurts one of them."

He slid his hands down to my own and laced them together, "Alright, I'll call Valentine when we get home. I want you to calm down. The freezer section is not the place for a Telltale Heart breakdown."

I laughed, pressing my lips to the inside of his uncovered elbow, "You're so cruel."

He kept me close until I'd calmed, then he kissed me lightly, "Only not to you."

_Meh, a shorty today. Sorry guys. Today was a really nice day for doing things physically so I spent a bit of time on that. The next one shall be longer._


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

That night, I was the one doing the sneaking out. I climbed out the window and stepped sidelong across the edge of the house before climbing down into the yard. The usually dusty corral was mostly sopping mud from a bout of rain that threatened to return, but I crossed it barefoot anyway. The insides of the stable were dry, dusty and warm, and while Shiver slept inside, Nightmare was sound asleep in her stall. I climbed the ladder into the hay loft and perched on the very edge. Tiny, gray mice ran in and out of a hole barely big enough for their bodies in the wall below me, taking straw and various little earthen trinkets with them. I wished I'd brought bread for them. They looked upset.

Instead of being joined by my boyfriend, I waited for what felt like hours until the door creaked open slightly and slid shut immediately afterward. Then, my best friend snapped his fingers and like a flare, lit up the interior of the barn. I shook my head at Heath's state of dress, clad in only his underclothes and a pair of sandals. It must've been hot for a fire elemental on a seventy degree night; he was the boy who wore hoodies in the dead of January. He shuffled over, his eyes still in a tired squint, and he put out the flame to crawl up the ladder beside me. I moved over and allowed him up, so we both sat on the edge with our feet dangling.

"Any reason why you'd call me at three AM?" he murmured before yawning widely.

I watched my foot scrape against the side of the ladder and muttered honestly, "I didn't want to be alone."

He scowled, moving a little closer and pulling me in. Heath's affection was a little much sometimes, but when Romulus was confined to his house and I had to deal with my parents, it was just what I needed. Metaphorically, I melted. I laid my forehead against his shoulder, feeling him go stiff with the coldness of my skin before relaxing and pulling me just a little closer. I was bigger than him in most aspects, but while he sunk down against the floor, I let him drag me with him. He was tired, and if I had to admit, so was I, but I had spent a few hours sitting awake in the dark and I didn't want to let my raw eyes interfere with my state of consciousness. I had to be awake for a reason.

"Are you happy with her?" I murmured, shifting my head so I lay partially on his shoulder.

"Jin?" he muttered, the exhaustion relieved a bit, "Yeah. She may seem a little uptight, but she knows how to have fun. Sometimes her puns are better than mine."

I scoffed, "I'd like to see that."

"You will," he replied earnestly. I had never heard his voice so excited. I smiled. "Do you love her?"

He was quiet for a moment before he nodded, and his warm fingertips trailed from my shoulder to my elbow and back up like he was stroking the feathers of a phoenix. I had to admit, it was soothing. "Yeah. I don't have to worry about killing her."

I laughed. "Heath, you are good friend. I want you to know that."

"You're my _best_ friend," he replied, "So I want you to know there are no hard feelings. I know you're happy with Rom. I'm happy with Jin. We both got what we deserved, and we can stick around each other too."

I nodded. So long as he didn't see it as romantic, but sometimes I just couldn't go to sleep without someone there. Romulus had made me dependent. He wasn't dozing off; if anything, he was getting more awake. He squeezed me, stirring me, and muttered, "You know, as long as I'm at least in the top few people you'll invite to your wedding, I'm fine."

"You can be maid of honor," I teased. He didn't get offended, Heath didn't offend easily. He just beamed. "Can I wear a dress with flames?"

"Can see why Jin worries about you," I replied. I must've fallen asleep for a while, because when I came out of what I thought was a prolonged blink, my eyes felt much less raw and rain was pounding on the roof a few feet above me. The soft, relaxed tones of Heath and Romulus came from below me and I went to the edge to watch them.

Heath perched on the bottom steps of the ladder while a slightly damp Romulus took up residence on one of the doors to the stalls. I didn't know how long he'd been there, just that he'd likely found the both of us asleep. They were talking civilly, though, so I knew he wasn't upset.

"Yeah, she's not so bad," Heath was saying, "She hangs out with Jackson a lot. But he's not her boyfriend, they're married or something. My mom was getting some Dragon Wing for the garden in the spring and they were picking out flowers together or something. She went on and on about how cute it was and how I should hang out more with them because apparently they're great influences on Jackson or something."

"She doesn't seem too bad," Romulus replied, "Neither of them do, if you forget...you know. I didn't want to forget it, but she seems really guilty about it."

"Gory?" I called down, drawing both of their attention. Romulus looked up and nodded.

"Yeah, I don't know her that well, but Jackson does. He's probably your go-to guy on the vampires, they hang around him like he's beneficial or something."

It made me proud to hear Heath use the word _beneficial_ properly in a sentence. I climbed down and jumped into a tiny pile of stray hay, taking it up as a seat when I had landed. Romulus smiled, "Morning sleeping beauty."

I smiled slightly in reply, "Morning yourself."

Heath rolled his eyes. A pair of the field mice I had been watching earlier scampered past me and drew my boyfriend's attention. I thought for a moment that he would jump down and try to catch one, but he wasn't Toralei. Heath exhaled as if he were troubled and glanced around, "If it keeps raining, I'm gonna have to go and pretend I woke up at five AM to shower."

"Ditto," Romulus replied. I shrugged. The mice were worming around and rustling the hay, and I was progressively growing jittery. I wanted to make a mad dash for the house just to get the anticipation out of my system. Finally, my boyfriend's eyes fell on me and he grew sheepish, "How were things with your parents?"

I shrugged, "Papa got quiet. Did not talk to me for long while. Mama said she understood, that whole thing was not anyone's fault, but because we kids we do stupid things. Not really in trouble, but feel like it."

He nodded. "My house turned into Saint Trinian's before dinner. My parents needed fifteen freakin' things and we had family over, so I had to take them out shopping with me. Ran into none other than the queen of the damned herself, and she seemed pretty upset about the whole thing. I guess I radiate parental trouble."

"It's an uneventful town," Heath replied, turning himself upside down and linking his feet through the space between the steps of the ladder, "It's, like, one of the only things that's happened in the school year."

I glanced at him, "Now you are wrong. We had school year from hell."

He shrugged, "Not really. I don't think anything much has topped being puked on by a Cthulu."

Romulus smirked. I shook my head, "That is why Mister Hack tells you to follow directions, Heath." I had no doubt that it had also been the reason Ms. Kindergrubber had stuck the both of us together on every project for the entire school year in Home Ick. We sat in relative silence until the rain alleviated, and it was the most relaxing silence I had ever been in with the both of them. While the sound grew quiet, Heath glanced to me, "I'm gonna run home. I'll call you later, okay?"

I nodded. He pulled open the door, flared his flames and started running, turning every drop that would've hit him into mist. Romulus rose slowly and offered me his hand, "Let's go before Nightmare wakes up."

I nodded, grasping his hand and tugging myself to my feet. The clouds were breaking and the night seemed especially dark. I could still see the desk lamp on in my room as we walked to the front and he showed me the climbing path he regularly took to get up to my room. We climbed back inside and dried our feet on the carpet, and I tugged the window down to halfway. I clicked off the lamp and sent the room into darkness, but even though it was late and summer-cool, I didn't want to go to bed.

Romulus's arm wound around me and tugged me close. My back collided with his chest and very gently, his claws brushed back my hair. His warm lips descended on my neck and drew a soft sound of contentment from my lips. "You know what?" he murmured against my shoulder, "I'm not tired."

I glanced at my clock and nearly balked. I hadn't gotten much sleep at all; it was actually only just turning five. Surely we had a few hours before they'd wake up, but I didn't want to fall asleep on him. Very gently, I nudged him back onto my bed. His teeth glinted vibrantly. I crawled onto the mattress beside him and laid my head on his chest. Taking the hint, he chuckled and ran his fingers slowly through my hair. His claws bushed my scalp lovingly, "Sorry I couldn't be over earlier."

I shrugged, "You had to do what you had to do."

"Actually, I fell asleep," he admitted. "Ray wanted to watch _Peter Pan_ and I got to sleep before they got to Neverland." His honestly made him somehow more attractive. I exhaled slowly, linking my fingers in his shirt. Very gently, his hand slid up my arm and cradled my elbow. With my head resting on his muscular arm, I closed my eyes and started drifting. "You know," he murmured, "I'm not sure if your parents would be cool with how often I stay over, but I have to admit, I think your dad would be happy with how much we just lay here and not do anything."

I tried not to laugh with my face pressed against his skin, failing miserably. I was so tired that only a giggle slipped free, but it still meant something. All of this meant something. The rain slowly began to pick up again and he did slip free to shut the window, but when he returned, I knew what it meant. He'd rather get caught in my room than get caught in the rain on the way out, and despite the fact that we were already in warm water with my parents, he didn't care. He slid back into his proper place and kissed the top of my head, "Are you happy?"

I nodded. He understood, but I wished I had the energy or the words to tell him just how happy I was. Everything was very serious now, not like it hadn't always been, but now I realized it. I laid there on the verge of sleep for a few minutes before Romulus fell deeply asleep with me, and the soft vibrations of his chest, almost like little snores, made me think. I thought I'd like to hear them for the rest of my life. Then I fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

"You want to what?"  
Despite her lacking reflection, Daciana had frozen before her mirror with a pin half-secured in her hair. She turned, slowly, toward me with her elegant chin raised defiantly. Her eyes held a firey scorn that had was typically reserved for the few people worthy of her wraith. She slowly slid the pin into her hair, securing her neat, tight little up-do. I didn't move from my place, lounging on her paisley green and sandy gold bedspread.  
"_We're_ not doing this. That's all, Daci."

She rose fluidly. Her scorn would get her nowhere and she understood that. She perched beside me and pulled my legs into her lap, her perfectly manicured fingernails fixing the hem of my socks to my knee, "Gory, we've been over this. It's a good idea. Now, if you're having second thoughts, just remember, we all have second thoughts before good things."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure. Because you thought twice about coming here to be with Val."

"That's different, as you and Bram are a different story as well. There are celestial things that are meant to be and there are things like conquest, which have to be done with careful decisiveness." She smoothed the hem of my sock and teasingly flicked the outer edge, "Did you even ask Bram what he wanted?"

He wanted to clean the house, not enact petty revenge. I could've snapped at her, but Daciana was a good ally to have when the time came. Blessedly, Valentine entered the room without knocking, bee-lining for her and sitting on the edge beside her, "I hate to give you the news this way, but they really do have to go."

She pretended to pout, patting my knee as I slid my legs from her lap. "Think about what I said."

I smiled slightly without a word. He kissed her cheek and followed me out. I caught hold of his jacket and pulled him in for a gratitude-laced hug that made him blush slightly, "She really thinks I want to get Draculaura angry again, doesn't she?"

"She thinks we all do," I murmured. Bram was waiting for us at the door, his dark eyes glinting warmly. Valentine's mansion was only slightly larger than our own, and now that he was sharing it with Daciana, he was spending more and more time locked away in his library or his personal arcade. He had outdoor sports for the cloudy days in which it felt safe to venture out properly, and though the boys had talked many times about doing them, they never seemed to get around to it when tossed together.

"How much did you lose on pool today?" I teased him upon our descent to the landing.

"You should be asking how much he lost to me," he teased in return. Valentine rolled his eyes, pausing by the door to let us out, "Thank you for setting her straight yourself."

"Trust me, we know how difficult she is," Bram replied. He allowed me out into the warm night first. The polished steps were bordered by lush little gardens of blood red rose bushes bordered by scarlet lilies. The leaves glistened like emeralds in the fading, dusky sun and the light clouds overhead were streaked with orange, gold, pink and lavender. I wandered down the cobblestone driveway to the gravel path under the weeping willow tree where we had parked. The cicadas were singing, and in the nearby marshland, a handful of frogs groaned to one another in low tones.

Bram caught up with me before I reached the flared tail of our hearse, catching me by the arm and pulling me close. There was a dark, playful, wicked look in his eyes, "Doesn't this remind you of Louisiana in sixty-three?"

"That would probably be why Val bought the property," I teased, winding my arms around his neck to kiss him gently. "Do you remember when they had polo ponies? I miss those polo ponies."

He chuckled, his hand resting gently upon my lower back, "You always have enjoyed the companies of animals more than people."

I sighed, "Do you know what I'd love?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me," he replied, still teasing as he opened my door for me. I slid inside, waiting for him to round the front of the car before I spoke again. "I think we should get a hound," I said, trying to break the thought to him as gently as possible, "A cute little bloodhound or a hound mix. Then we could really have all of that again."

As he started up the car, he sighed. "Yes, I remember how attached to Valentine's dog you were. And when that feeble minded old governor decided to bring up how his daughter's had been run over in the yard when guests arrived, you took it upon yourself to take it with you wherever you went to keep it out of trouble. It went to bed with you more than I did."

"Valentine already bought him past his prime. He was supposed to be a companion dog, not a hunting dog," I replied. "You know he loved me as much as I loved him, right up until the day he died."

"You would've loved to turn that dog," he muttered. I silently agreed. As we pulled off down the road, driving slowly, he sighed. "Well, it wouldn't be so bad. If I get you a dog, and I end up finding a job I like, then you won't be so lonely playing housewife."

I rolled my eyes, "We need to renovate first. Then you worry about assembling the rest of your life."

He smiled slightly, "I need to get you a driver's licence. And a car of your own. And a dog."

I smiled out into the darkness. A few fireflies flickered in blurs, mixed with the warm brown of mature June beetles. "You mean it?" The dog meant more to me than the car or the licence; I could walk around Salem and commute to the city, but to have someone else near me was a thing I had wanted for a long time. I had to admit, a dog would have more personality than half of our friends.

"Of course," he replied. His hand dropped from the steering wheel to grasp my own on the soft, leather seat. "Whatever makes you happy."

Before heading home, we pulled off into the parking lot adjacent to Riverfront Park and wandered down the quiet, dusky road. Little kids scampered around while their parents relaxed. In a town full of monsters, it was surprising to see that most parents considered their children safe while they played frisbee with werewolf children. It was warm, richly warm, but not sticky with humidity, and as we wandered down the main road toward the ice cream parlor, the stars emerged in the velvet, navy blue sky. Our fingers laced together.

"I'm happy now," I felt the need to clarify.

"I want you to be happy all the time," he replied.

I was at a loss for words. Something had changed in the past few days between us; maybe it was the idea that we were more mature than petty revenge was worth, but whatever it was had taken root. As we wandered into the ice cream parlor, I had very little on my mind. Planning the layout of the house and our inevitable immediate futures could wait; the night was velvet and we were happy. We could go wander around the park for a while and go home, lay outside and read until it hurt our eyes to strain with the lantern light. Stay up until dawn watching old movies and wrapped in the sheets because the air conditioning was too harsh on bodies that generated little heat. I had wandered into yet another crossroads, and in my life that seemed all too short and all too long at the same time, I realized that there had never really been such a thing as a straight path the entire time. It seemed like once I left one, I ended up at another.

Abbey Bominable and Romulus Moon were seated among their pack in the corner booth, nestled up together like any other couple, even though she was a yeti and he was a wolf. I glanced to Bram, whispered to him and kissed his cheek. He grudgingly let go of my hand.

Her deep, amethyst eyes lifted in surprise as I came up to them. Her friends went silent, their dancing gazes growing quickly somber.

"Hi," I said, surprised at the quiet sound of my own voice.

"Hi," she replied. It was a rich, warm tone, full of forgiveness.

I met her eyes and let a very sad little smile touch my lips. "I'm sorry."

"I know," she replied simply. She kicked at the chair across from her with the warmest look I had ever seen the yeti give another person outside her group. Maybe it was because she didn't venture too far from them. "Have seat. We have room."

The werewolves didn't look so quick to agree, but Bram came over regardless, having obviously heard. He set down a pair of chocolate malts and got my chair for me, forcing me to take the empty seat while he took the edge of the booth beside me. "So Romulus," he began, "How do you think we're going to do this year in casketball?"

A little smile touched the werewolf's face as he squeezed his girlfriend's shoulders, "We're going to kick ass."

The boys immediately went off into sports discussion, even joined by a few of the girls. When I knew what they were discussing, I threw in my opinion, but it wasn't very often. Sports were all Greek to me. I was very aware of Abbey's eyes on my face when I laughed at her friend's jokes, the one I had bought the clothes for in the boo-tique. When I told her about getting a dog, she told me that she worked at a shelter and she could surely find me one I would love.

"That's the problem," Bram replied, "She'll love them all."

It came off as a surprise to most of them. I lowered my face in embarrassment. "I guess I've been worse to you all than I thought."

"Nah," the blond wolf girl replied, "We just didn't think you had a heart. You'd only be the second relatively decent bloodsucker we've ever met."

"We count you as one person," her twin replied, glancing between us.

"Funny, so do we," Bram responded humorlessly. I glanced to him and his eyes raised to me, and I smiled before taking a sip. His fingers laced with mine on the table, and the action alone seemed to make them understand. We might've had a rough beginning, but the werewolves were seeing us as we were. People at a crossroads in their lives tended to understand each other very well.

...

"What do ya want me to do, Daci? Kill 'em myself?" Valentine asked as she paced the library in front of him.

"No. There's no point in attacking them, it would just start another row. We have to get them where it hurts," she responded. Her curls were coming undone, and as he reached out to fix them she smacked his hand away, "Don't do this to me while I'm talking to you!"

He sighed, slumping back into his chair, "You heard Gory and Bram. They don't want you to carry this out anymore."

"They don't know what they want," she snapped.

"And you intend to make it so they do?"

Her eyes locked on his face and she smiled, "No, sweetheart. Gory and Bram don't need any persuading. They're one of us, they're not the enemy. But the others...we'll attack their hearts."

"Their hearts?" Valentine replied dryly, "Isn't that a bit...overdone?"

She perched on his knees and beamed, "Their hearts. What's closest to them. _Who's_ closest to them. Find me their weaknesses, Valentine. Their rivals. Their fears. Bring them to me, and I'll take it from there."

"I dunno about this," he replied, cracking open the book she'd interrupted when he was satisfied her reverie was over.

She simply nodded and wandered toward the window, "You will. Trust me, you will."


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

There was green everywhere. Some covered in shadow, made into a glossy emerald in its health, some bathed in golden light to be a glistening lime. The bark was rich and mocha colored, rough under my hands as I brushed past it. We were silent in our pursuits; our breathing light, our steps even lighter. Romulus knew better than to leave a trail. We had looped around, leaving several false starts, zig-zagging around in the forest until the course of our path had become disorienting. On bended knee, we crawled forth over fallen limbs and long-dead leaves. The earth was rich beneath my hands. He was used to this kind of movement, and though my body adjusted to it well, it was still hard to keep down as low and understandably easily as he did.

He stopped and sniffed, fixing his gaze on the tawny hide of a deer limping ahead. I swallowed harshly; it had deep, red marks where it had been attacked by something else. It had been separated from its herd. As it shambled along, I could tell it was at a mental crossroads between finding its heard and knowing that it wouldn't. Nature wasn't kind to anyone. Even if it had escaped its predator, it was ready to be consumed by another. My stomach clenched, but there was a part of me that had grown stronger with the pack that understood without a doubt what we intended to do.

"I'll take down this one," Romulus breathed, barely audible to my heightened ears, "You find the herd."

I nodded, remaining still and silent. Surely it had heard us. When he stalked forward on his fours, his knees bent and elbows locked in a quadrupedal gait, I rose and took off in a silent dash. There was a chance the boys had found them before we had if this one was so far off.

I found the river and ran up the slick, smooth stones. Cool water rushed over my feet, soothing the slight ache that was still present despite their growing firmness. With a sharp lurch, I grabbed the sheer hillside where the river tumbled in a short fall, and launched myself upward.

For a second, I expected to be face to face with my pack, maybe a large cat or some other predator, but no. It was clear why the pack had fled, and I had launched myself straight in. Surprisingly, the vampires continued to feast undisturbed. My pulse increased like I had been cornered too, and I simply jumped over the carcasses and continued on. My friends wouldn't understand. There was something primal in us, some instinct in every hunter that needed to be sated. I didn't know if it was better or worse that they weren't necessarily feeding on people.

I found the fresh path of hooves and gave chase. It was a little shift, but my muscles uncoiled. It was easier to run, it felt more fluid. The wind caressed my hair and skin, a wind I was creating. I slowed with the progressive freshness of the trail, and I sensed another hunter near me.

It was funny. I'd always thought of the Belfry Prep vampires to be the type to catch the young and vulnerable and carve them into steaks like Hannibal. In my mind, they were too refined to hunt this way. They hunted with sexual hints, subtle glances, dragged their victims into alleyways and ripped them open. I caught the gentle glint of sunlight on blond hair and paused. I didn't even know why I'd thought that way, maybe I just anticipated that they had never done it before, even if they had probably spent the dark ages doing it themselves. I lowered myself and approached him slowly until we were side by side. He didn't seem to notice me, but I kept my guard. The herd was closely gathered; all looked healthy. None were too old. They'd been picked from before. I refused to catch a fawn. They were the ones occasionally straggling, and they didn't seem to hold any interest for the vampire beside me either. His eyes were transfixed on a four-pronged buck. I was partially waiting; if he attacked, it would scramble the herd, and I could take whatever didn't escape in time. He was waiting too, and he could wait very well. Eventually, the herd did grow more loose. The buck strayed toward us in search of more seed grass. His muscles locked. His body tensed and his eyes were transfixed on his chosen prey. There weren't any more near our space, and if I shifted, I would give away the both of us. I mentally cursed, knowing I'd have to chase the herd again.

He looked ready to attack when something small flew out of the woods and slammed it back towards us. The deer grew stiff and silent, looking around with frantic eyes. I leapt back, expecting it to thrash and fight, but instead, it was pinned between two vampires with a broken neck. I stared at it. I could feel the heat radiating from its furry, muscular body, and I tore my eyes up to its hunters.

Her hair was gathered back in a clustered wrap resembling a bun, pinned up with a pair of oriental clips. A simple, black undershirt encased her upper body, and for the first time I saw how her upper arms were at least mostly muscle. Her legs, I didn't know I had ever seen encased the way they were in her shorts, but her calves were muscled like a track star's. Gory Fangtell's eyes lifted to me and she nodded toward the herd. I didn't move. They could both sense my questioning, but her boyfriend found the main vein and sunk his fangs in, forcing her to prioritize their hunt before my answers. I withdrew my phone from my bra and checked the darkened screen.

_Two for one. Back truck._  
I didn't know if I wanted to cross back where the other vampires were hunting, and I didn't want his kill to go untreated, so I fibbed in a reply. _Found others. Go on ahead, will meet you back soon. :)_

By the time I had looked up, Gory had withdrawn. Her mouth was coated in red and it dripped down her chin. I glanced down at the deer and she nodded, motioning me after her. I stepped over her feeding lover and followed her into the deep greenery, for the first time trusting a vampire with my safety. She climbed nimbly over a log, revealing a pair of thin, easily-movable canvas shoes. She glanced back to me, "We'll take it back with us, you know. We don't hunt often."

"Neither do we," I replied. It was the first time I had ever seen her as my equal, and I had to admit, it was nice. She found the river from a different point, pausing by its bank to wash the blood and dirt from her skin. I hesitated; of course I was probably dirty, but it was a different kind of dirty. I felt like a child out in the forest; the dirt that got on my skin from interacting with the pack was a special kind of dirt. It didn't need to be washed off until I went home to act civilized around my family. Out here, we were young, wild and free. There was no government and there was no secrecy. We governed ourselves, and it was beautiful.

"It's beautiful," she murmured. I glanced at her with wide eyes, watching the water bead on her face. She paused, rising to her full height and stretching, her arms extending to their full wingspan to embrace the radiance above her. I watched curiously from my partial crouch at the riverbed.

When she lowered herself and seemed to come back to herself, I spoke. "Why doesn't your skin burn?"

"Sunscreen," she replied. She rolled her neck and shoulders, fixing her deep red eyes on my face, "Waterproof for two hours."

They hadn't been out long, then. I honestly didn't know how long I'd been gone, but it must've been a while. The sun's position had changed in the sky; out here, that felt like my only approximation of time. My phone remained tucked wherever I could hold it, only remembered when we were too far separated or when I resumed my civil mind.

She glanced at me, her eyes as curious as mine, "So...are you like them, or did you just adapt?"

"He's bitten me before," I replied. "I do not think I am capable of full transformation, but I was taking on the traits before...you know."

She nodded, "And now?"

I shrugged, "And now it is more. But I am still not human. I can only sharpen what I already have."

She nodded again, a stray lock of violet hair draping down beside her face. I rose to my two legs and waded out in the river. She followed on the rocky shore, seeming to watch me come back to myself as if it were a process that warranted her intrigue. The cold water on my skin reminded me of my cold home, that was all. It lulled the animal part of my self into returning to its dormant state. I wondered if my father would appreciate the hunting or the food. Somehow, we always shared. Between the pack, they could consume three or more, but they limited themselves to their scarce necessity.

"Do you eat deer?" I asked her, closing my eyes to feel the sun on my skin as I wandered across the silt banks under the water rushing around my calves.

"I'm not very discriminate in my food choices," she replied, "I do try to take them down as humanely as possible."

I shrugged, "Understand that people care about how animals are treated, but some part of nature has to stay, you know? Human is not stronger than bear, but bear and human can interact peacefully. Bear and human must both eat deer, and if human weak, it fair game for bear. Should not beat animals to death, or really even make house pet, but eating meat is not bad thing."

She smiled slightly, "Some animals make better pets than others. I'd love to have a baby tiger, but I couldn't expect it to stay with me all of its life."

"So move to place with baby tigers and keep safe. Help grow. Then baby tiger not be tied to you, but you get what you want too."

She offered her hand to me from shore, and I felt around with my foot before taking it. She seemed to know the deep points in the river better than I did, and I let her know that I was impressed with my eyes. She smiled, "We do live out here, you know. We come fishing sometimes. Wandering. It's nice."

It was nice to be far away from people. People made life so difficult when they had influence over each other. I looked at Gory with understanding, and she made no move to withdraw her hand from my own. I thought it might've been awkward to hold on, but the touch seemed to take the boundary away that had been in place so long between us.

"You want to be own person," I observed, "Away from them. Is why they look to you."

She laughed, "They never really looked to me, they looked to Bram. He got them to look to me. Either way, they don't really look to either of us for anything now."

"Is not bad thing, you equal now. See, there always have to be something making people not equal. Is nature's way. But some things are so stupid, like why people hate each other for eating or for girl liking other girl. Those are not good being unequal. But you and I, we rival bear and outdo human. Human will never rival bear without weapon, and bear do not use weapons. You see?"

She smiled at the ground. It was something I had seen too many girls do when they were told something that they believed wholeheartedly and yet would try to think differently toward anyway. "People are stupid enough to hate each other for everything." She looked up, meeting my eyes as we wandered along down the riverbank. She pulled me into the forest, so I knew we were approaching the steep hill again. "Do you hate me, Abbey?"

I shrugged, "Have never hated you. Not even in hospital. Fear you, yes, but not hate you. Is no point in hating you. You only do what you do because you are scared too." She swallowed visibly. I squeezed her hand, "Is okay to be scared, just do not have to be scared of me."

"You know, they say tigers are the most fierce in the moments before they're going to die," she murmured. "Because they're scared. Because it's their last-ditch effort to fight back."

"Must really like tigers," I observed.

She smiled, "I really do."

"Do you hate me?" I asked. She looked up at me with very expressive, very embarrassed eyes. They spoke absolutely nothing of hatred, just of a girl still growing, still trying to understand as intellectuals did. There was something in her eyes more ready to love than most people's eyes. It brought a little smile to my lips. It seemed like sometimes the people most ready to love were the people who loved and were loved the best.

"No," she whispered, as if I were stealing her voice. "I never hated you, Abbey, I never hated anyone. But you do know, your friends hurt me. And I was scared."

"I'm sorry," I replied. She could've let my apology go, and she could've let go of my hand, but she didn't and I knew she'd taken it to heart. Her boyfriend would take her home and make her happy the way it was okay in the eyes of other people to be happy, but I could tell that I had made her soul a little happier. She nodded. She understood what it was like to be really happy, and maybe it necessarily wasn't okay with other people for her to be happy. "Gory?" I asked in a softer tone. Her eyes lifted, and I squeezed her hand again, "Can you make me little promise?"

"Depends on what the promise is," she replied.

"Be happy today," I replied, "No matter what other people think of what make you happy."

Grace told me that I was very innocent in the way I saw the world, despite the fact that Romulus and I had done and been through a lot of very not-innocent things. I think Gory saw that too. A few quiet little tears ran down from her eyes, and I thought she was very pretty that way. Crying the way she was meant she was being very honest, and as we wandered for a very long time, that was all she did. She cried until her cheeks got very pink, and her eyes were very bright. And just before she stopped crying and wiping her face like crying was something to be ashamed of, she pulled me close to her and wrapped her arms very tightly around me. I held her tightly in return, brushing the little strand of violet hair away from her face. She really did look pretty this way with her bangs parted on her forehead. She was always very pretty, but this was a more natural pretty. It felt like she wasn't trying so hard.

"Okay," she muttered. I had almost forgot what I said, but when I remembered, I hugged her a little tighter. She repeated herself and let me go. Breaking contact made me realize that I had no ride to speak of, and I followed her back to a gravel parking lot where a large truck-car was pulling away. They had their hearse, and she slipped inside while her boyfriend sat on the hood and smoked a cigarette. He noticed that she had been crying and glanced at me, and I rubbed my neck. Deugi's truck was parked in the far spot, though, so I made my way towards it and sat down in the bed.

They pulled out of the parking lot a few minutes afterward, and I had to wait half an hour before the boys got back to their car.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

Very late that night, we laid awake together on top of the warm sheets. Shiver couldn't sleep herself, and while we nestled close to each other, I clipped the curls of her wool. "She's so little," he murmured. Shiver's head rested on his stomach, her tongue loping out like a little dog while I sheared most of the wool from her tiny body. My eyes flickered up to his face, taking in the lazy smile and his completely relaxed appearance. He was drifting from the heat, and he hadn't even been over long.  
I left a powder puff on Shiver's tail before setting her on the floor, and she shook off and wandered back to her little pillow bed. Popping the scissors in the disorganized drawer of my nightstand, I reclined to lay at his side. Romulus outstretched his arm to support my head, "C'mere and share some of that cold with me."

I glanced over my shoulder with a raised brow and he smiled lightly as he forced himself to rise and crawl closer. His arm snaked around my waist, his face pressing intimately into my neck. I released my breath, allowing him to nuzzle closer and wrap his body around mine like a half-human blanket. There were times when his intimacy surprised me; a lot of girls would give anything to have the affection cravings present in their boyfriends that every so often awoke in Romulus. I wasn't entirely sure if he was awake or asleep with his face pressed to my shoulder, but he was so wrapped around me, so comfortable to my skin, that I began to drift too.

"_Princesa_," my father began in Russian as he cracked open my door. At first, I stirred, but when he paused I panicked. I shot up, stirring Romulus, and when he caught sight of my father in the door, he toppled off my bed and clutched the edge. Shiver put her head down on her pillow as if asking if she were in trouble too. My father looked at me, looked at Romulus, likely took note of the fact that we were both clothed, and shut the door. I heard him thundering for my mother.

"Shit," Romulus muttered. Still, he made no effort to escape. I pulled my legs up on my bed once again and glanced to him, watching him as he rose and shut the window. Within minutes of the breeze being cut off, the air conditioning kicked on with a mechanical grunt, and I wrapped my arms around my knees with a little smile.

"Do your parents know?" I murmured. For the first time in a very long time, I felt myself growing sheepish.

He shrugged and sat beside me, "Yeah, for the most part. They know I sneak out pretty regularly to spend time with you." I apologized with my eyes, but he took up the space beside me and wrapped his arm tightly around my body. He traced my jaw, cupping my chin between his thumb and index finger. I was trapped in his hold and happily so, even when he released me to steal a soft kiss. "They were my age once," he muttered, "They know."

I could only imagine my parents trying to sneak around together. My father, a huge, bulky young yeti and my mother no bigger than I was, it was like imagining Clawd and Draculaura, although I didn't quite understand how he snuck around with her father at home either. Maybe it was just boyfriend tradition, breaking into the houses of their girlfriends at night and spooning with them, and spending all night on Skype with them when they couldn't. He laid his head on my shoulder once again, nuzzling close and allowing me to drape backward onto my pillows once again. I didn't see how we could be in any real trouble with them, we hadn't done anything wrong.

They must've had a lot to discuss, because it took them a while to get back to us. When they returned, the only thing that roused me was Shiver tooting at me. I propped up on my elbow for a moment, awakening myself. I felt like I was dreaming, but Grace was certainly tucked under my father's bulky arm to fit the both of them in the doorway, and she smiled with complete understanding. "Go back to sleep, Abbey."

My father grunted. She nudged him. I didn't particularly enjoy becoming the subject of my parents discussion, but I laid down anyway. Romulus yawned and shifted slightly, giving me the leeway to hide my face in his chest.

"I seem to remember a boy who threw a stone at my window so hard it cracked the glass to get my attention," Grace said in a gentle tone.

"Never broke into your house," Ivan muttered in reply. After a long pause, he amended, "When your parents were home."

"You did so, now don't pretend I won't remember," she replied, "and he obviously hasn't broken in. He does this quite often, actually."

"You knew and didn't tell me?"

"I didn't see a reason to."

Relief coated my insides. I closed my eyes, content with the hand my mother had now dealt. It seemed very brief, like I had dozed again, but when I opened my eyes, I felt adequately rested. Romulus was propped up beside me, watching my TV and toying with my hair. I squeezed his waist, nuzzling into his shirt. He wasn't wearing cologne, leaving the woodsy, masculine, natural smell that clung to him bared to my senses. A tickle ran up my spine and I nipped his collarbone playfully. He growled teasingly, "Abbey, behave yourself."

"Make me," I replied, locking my fingers in his shirt.

He glanced toward the door and flipped me over, silencing any sound I could make with an aggressive kiss. I squeaked into his mouth, giggling uncontrollably and kissing him back enthusiastically. My arms wound around his neck, clutching him against my body with all the force I could respond with. He kissed me until we both had to breath, then gently slipped free of my arms. I smiled.

"Meet you downstairs?" he teased.

"You know my father won't be very happy," I replied.

He crawled off my bed and stretched. "I know." His smile was full of understanding. He headed off for the bathroom, leaving me to wake up on my own. I couldn't believe my father had taken it as well as he did. He probably would've tried to kill him if there had been a little less cuddling going on, but the fact that he hadn't made progress for him. I left my boyfriend to prepare himself and went to thank my mother for her damage control.

Shiver was already begging scraps from my parents when I got to the kitchen, her puffy tail slowly waving back and forth. My father snuck her a full piece of bacon, or at least he thought he had until Grace made a sound, "Ivan, I swear."

He smirked and leaned over, "Gracie, you need to learn to have fun."

Immediately, she put down what she was doing and gave him a look. It was the one look of motherly wraith that she possessed and even though it was supposed to be intimidating, it was funny. He returned to his proper posture, giving up momentarily. I filled my plate and began on Romulus's, attracting his attention momentarily. "Boy can feed himself," he replied.

"I just want to make sure," I replied, "Especially if you go for seconds."

Grace shook her head, continuing her occasional transition between pen and fork, and as my boyfriend entered the room, my father stole my mother's head clean off her shoulders. Her elbows slumped in exasperation, her shoulders quirked. She sighed, "Ivan, this is childish."

Romulus raised a brow in my direction as he sat, "Does this happen often?"

I shook my head. Her hands reached for her disjoined head, but my father held it gently, "We do something fun later. Not grading and sitting around house."

She gave him a look, but it obviously wasn't working. She relented, "Alright. We'll go riding or something later."

He placed her head back in her hands, "Good."

I glanced to Romulus. His head was slightly bowed, a wide smile on his lips and the traces of laughter in his expression enough to elate me. I beamed, the smile remaining as my father glanced to us. "Next time, you ask before shacking up with my daughter."

Romulus glanced up, his eyes flicking between me and my father, "Can I come back tonight?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes at my father and so did Grace. She didn't even look up to amend, "Of course you can. Just give Ivan a few days to get adjusted."

_A/N- Okay, I'm sorry this one is really short. It's got potential for really bad storming today so I wanted to get something done even if I didn't have much muse this early in the morning. I may or may not update later, all things depending. Just wish the midwest well today._


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

I hadn't spoken to Daciana since the incident at Valentine's, with good reason. Salem had been experiencing an uncharacteristic bout of sunshine that made everything flourish, even the night-dwellers. It was strange, as much as I understood that the clouds were protection from the sun, it didn't stop me from enjoying the sun as it came to us. It was particularly bright and sunny as it usually was the morning after a storm, and our new puppy scurried around my feet with his tail wagging as I sorted things from the clutter around the room. As easy as it might've been to simply purge every bit of clutter from every room, it was easier said than done. Several bags of old clothes had been collected and dumped in the car, ready to be carted off later. As I sorted through papers, he wormed his little face under my arm to investigate, growling at the shredder as it was used.

"Silly baby," I murmured, kissing the top of his head. Bram pushed a box up from the basement, glancing to me with a raised brow. I smiled, "You know, we should see what Abbey and Romulus are doing later. Maybe they'd want to come down to that concert in town with us."

"I know money grows on trees to you," he said, refusing to let me cut in with the reply that it was made of paper and therefore _did_, "but it would be a good idea not to attend every street fair. We are trying to renovate."

I pouted as sweetly as I could muster. He rolled his eyes, "No. Gory, I love you with all that I am, but you need to hold yourself to your commitments."

"We have all summer," I retaliated. My age aside, summertime was the time for adventures. It was the time to take stupid risks and make yourself look like a brave fool, and I wanted to do just that. He rolled his eyes and leaned over, kissing me appreciatively. "Sort through that and I'll sort through this, and we can take a walk up to the library, hm?"

I rolled my eyes; I had two books in progress and three on my waiting list, I really didn't need more to do. Still, it was a slightly bigger adventure than hanging around the house all day. I sighed and stood, "I'm going to take Sunny for a walk."

At the mention of his name, the puppy took a flying leap off the sofa and into the stack of papers I'd accumulated by the coffee table. He slid on them, scaring me for a moment as he disappeared underneath. He came charging out with a wagging tail, tongue flapping from his mouth as if he was having the time of his life. Bram laughed at the expression of horror on my face. I shot him a look and patted my side, summoning my furry baby to follow me. I clasped his leash onto his collar and led him out into the sunny afternoon. It was gorgeous, just warm enough to warrant my knee-length skirt and sandals. As we headed down the lightly paved road, Sunny sniffed absolutely everything in sight. I thought of the deer and the food we'd shared with the werewolves. Our relationship had been tensely content until now; it felt like the beginnings of an actual truce was in play.

Sunny stopped me, growling and yipping at a bush. I scooped him up instinctively to keep him from harm's way and stepped toward it, brushing the foliage aside with my foot, "Calm down, my dearest. Squirrels aren't that..."

There was an ash-pale hand in the shrubbery. My breath caught and I wandered a little closer, shielding his eyes as I peered down at the figure in the dead leaves. I did not recognize the girl in the grass, but I could tell very obviously that she was human. There were deep, obvious claw marks running over her throat and chest, so harsh and deep they had fractured the bone and left the bloodless organs exposed. The blood soaked her clothes and seeped into the earth beneath her, arousing my thirst but at the very same time, demanding attention to her wide, horrified eyes. The kill had been recent. Very recent, in fact...I wouldn't say the body was two hours old. I bet she still felt warm.

Sunny whimpered, drawing my attention, and I started back for the house with him nestled in my arms. Back in the yard, I let him do his business on the lawn and brought him inside. I led him in, locked the door and unclasped him from my leash, releasing him into "playing" with the things Bram had taken out of the box. He took one look at my expression and sat up, "What is it?"

I beelined for the kitchen, putting on blood and grabbing the phone. He scooped up Sunny and followed me. Tease me all he'd like about my maternal instincts for the dog, he had the same and he knew it. Though humans probably would've warranted a dead person in their yard to be an emergency, I simply dialed _our_ police station and sat on the edge of the counter while the blood heated up a few feet away. Sunny chewed lovingly on Bram's sleeve, his tail thumping against my husband's arm while they "played."

"Salem Police Department, how can I help you?" sounded the gentle tenor of a voice I recognized vaguely, likely one of the parents of my schoolmates.

"There's a body in the woods off of Thirteenth Street," I replied, "Human female in her late teens, just past the vampire sect."

There was a moment of silence before the voice on the other end said, "You're joking, right?"

"I wish I were, sir."

Bram's brows rose and I hung up gently, "Well, that was certainly a turn of events."

I shrugged, "They don't record those calls, do they?"

"I doubt it. We are talking about a place that hasn't updated since nineteen sixty seven," he replied. Sunny was still playing with his sleeve and I nodded, fetching the lukewarm mug from the microwave and taking the phone into the main room. I clicked on one of the movie channels to sort to and dialed Romulus's number. My husband sunk onto the sofa beside me, Sunny abandoning his sleeve in favor of snuggling up to me with a wagging tail. I folded my legs up on the sofa, listening to the ringing until the phone was answered and stroking him slowly behind his floppy ears.

"Hello," Romulus said.

"I need to have a discussion with you," I replied, "In person, if you're able."

"Sure, uh, I was about to head out with Abbey but...do you like horses?"

I glanced to Bram, placing my finger over the speaker, "How well do you think Sunny will do around horses?"

...

I admit, Bram and I were a little notorious for overdoing it a bit, but when hundreds of years of clothes were accumulated, there really wasn't much reason to let things you had sit in the closet.  
The both of us had clothes suitable for riding attire, and I had brought an upper saddlebag to carry Sunny in. We hadn't caught sight of Romulus while readying a pair of midnight Romanians for riding. Surprisingly well behaved, Sunny slipped into the deep pocket of the frontal saddle bag as I mounted, his leash on my wrist and the reigns to my horse in my opposite hand, and perched with his face and arms out of his holster. Bram and I kept pace with each other as we started down the horse path.

"This is ridiculous, you couldn't ask the boy over later?" he asked, batting away the low limb of a tree.

I glanced back to him and released my breath, "Bram...I think it's time we had that adventure."

His eyes widened and I nudged my horse's side. With a huff, she started off in a gradually increasing gallop. Sunny bounced, whimpered and hid in the pocket of the saddle bag as we picked up speed. I tore across the dirt path, leaving my lover to catch up, and as I came up upon Abbey and Romulus, I simply stole the wolf boy's hat in passing. He nudged his horse into chase as I laughed and pitched his hat into the opposite pocket. The dirt path turned, but I spurred my horse forward. We galloped along the mossy banks of a nestled-away lake brimming with tall grasses and into an open field. I slowed my horse and glanced around, laughing with a spectacular thrill, "Bram! Look!"

He was the first to gallop in, stopping quickly when he saw me. Despite his quick breaths, he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes at having actually rode for the first time in upwards of a century. Still mounted, I guided my horse into walking around, stepping over the mossy stones and trying to make out the names on them. "We've wandered into a graveyard," I replied, unable to contain my interest.

"Lovely," he replied, "More bodies in one day than I'd like to deal with."

Romulus and Abbey had kept pace with each other and trotted out behind us, the former of the two trotting up to my side and giving me a look, "My hat?"

I produced it, tossing it onto his horse's head. The mare's ears twitched and she nickered, but didn't express any other outward sign of displeasure. He placed his cap back on, backwards, of course, because his generation couldn't do much of anything properly, but I let it slide. Sunny peeked out his head, and I admired the gravestones from my perch.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Romulus asked as he kept pace with me. Bram remained perched on his horse, turning her back toward grasses that weren't fertilized with the remains of the dead, and Abbey dismounted her horse to follow. I paused at a rather impressive, ivy-grown monument of an angel with outstretched wings and moss running down her stone face as if they were the algae-ridden tears of an angel trapped to earth by no force of her own. I reached out and snapped the restraints around her wings, staring into the stone face of the monument and finding the agony and relief mingling into one horrific expression that rattled my inclination of a soul to see.

I returned my eyes back to him and continued along the perimeter of the cemetery. "I found a body in the woods today. It looked as if it had been mangled by one of yours not long before."

"It's summer," Romulus said, as if it were an easily explainable occurrence, "Nobody I know gets up before ten."

"I would've assumed she was murdered around ten," I replied. "Ten or eleven, I went to walk Sunny around noon and he must've scared off a scavenger. She was a human girl."

"Any evidence of anything else? Paw prints or scat or...?" He watched me with a gentle expression. I glanced back to him, trying not to smirk, "What, do I look like Steve Irwin? I called the police. I don't handle murders, animal-based or otherwise."

"None except your own," he replied, smirking. My stomach tightened, but I straightened and nodded. We wandered around, glancing at the hardly-legible names on gravestones and the half-sunken monuments, a few green-coated mausoleums with windows smashed through by the limbs of plants and infected with ivy. Death was strangled by life and it was unnerving. I grew to understand why I depended so heavily on the civilization of the indoors.

"Romulus," Abbey called, once again on horseback. We both looked up across the small field to her, taking note of her furrowed brows and her grim expression, "You should come see this."

We nudged our horses into a light trot. Sunny began growling as we reached the crest of the lake by the tall grasses and I paused my horse as Romulus dismounted. Bram glanced to me, his eyes hard and shoulders tense. Abbey held the reigns of her lover's horse as he waded into the ankle-deep water and pulled aside the reeds, promptly gagging and lurching free of the pond, but not before he'd let loose whatever the reeds held. Gradually, a maggot-inhabited arm floated out into the water, joined by a bobbing shoe moments later. I froze. The hand was female, but the shoe looked male.

"Two of them," Bram said quietly, "Both females. Late teens."

I glanced back toward the field and almost hoped the ivy-restrained angel had come to life in her state of freedom, but as the breeze stirred the murky water, I didn't even catch the scent of death. I only saw the dying limbs of ivy swaying in the breeze as if they, too, had been slaughtered.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

Bram turned his horse back to the path, a look of disgust on his face as he looked down at the mossy earth. I followed to lead my horse back to the water, glancing back to notice Romulus wandering off with Gory. I tried not to be jealous, but she looked more beautiful than usual. She had a blue velvet vest with brass buttons over a softly ruffled white shirt and soft black riding pants, buckled boots coming to half-calf over them. She had soft, suede saddle bags with her puppy in them, his navy blue leash so delicate looking I thought it was linen. Her boyfriend looked much the same, embracing their old world vampiric attire.

Even though I paused at the lake, the horse didn't drink; I guess the old saying was right. Sinking my feet into the marshy ground, I pulled myself up onto his back, glancing over to the vampire trotting along the shore.

"Do you trust her?" I called.

He glanced over his shoulder with a laugh. Away from hunting, he looked downright angelic. "If you're wondering whether she's out to steal your little boyfriend, don't bother. He's not her type."

I wondered if he really was, in that 4-H looking jacket. It was too regal, like they had something to prove. Either way, his horse paused and refused to go any closer to the water. He nudged it with his knees, trying to provoke a reaction, but only succeeded in spooking it. He grasped the reigns and held on tighter, calming the creature with force. Still, he had seen something, and I could see it in his face. He lulled the poor, panicky creature into standing still and dismounted. He only took a few steps before he backpedaled and threw me a glance of mixed disgust and horror.

I led my horse back. They were clear across the field, but they heard when I called anyway. "Romulus, you should come see this."

They followed. She waited between us, her two-toned hair done up in a ponytail that caught the light like painted diamond. Romulus waded out, looking in and gagging. An arm floated out in the water. He had found a body.  
"Two of them," Bram said quietly, "Both females, late teens."

Gory looked sick. I didn't blame her. Romulus charged out of the water, cussing and taking off his shoes. He looked at the vampires for aid, but not even I would touch him now. He wrenched the sanitizer out of his pocket and slathered it over his skin like sunscreen. I watched the face of the vampire I had come to like as she glanced back to the cemetery. The bodies were too fresh to have come from there, she knew as well as I did. She looked at her boyfriend and dismounted. She brought the reigns of her horse to him and went to the edge of the trees, where she promptly threw up. I couldn't smell anything, and I really couldn't see anything, but her viewpoint must've been different. She started to sink against the tree with a few heaves, and I went over for the simple gesture of holding her up. Her skin was blazing with uncharacteristic warmth.

The sound of other horses neared, her dry heaving subsiding gradually. She staggered away and leaned on her horse for support. I gave her water that she accepted more than gratefully.

"What's going on?" Grace asked. Nightmare seemed content enough beneath my mother. I rose a brow, "Where's Dad?"

"On the trail. He's not as skilled of a horseman as I am, with good reason." I almost laughed at the idea of my mother's smug expression as she tried to race him and my father clinging for dear life to something that wasn't suited for his size. Taking one glance to my boyfriend freaking out as he hung his "death-water" shoes from the stirrup of the saddle and Bram gently consoling his girl kept me from smiling at all.

"I think you should come see on your own."

Romulus paused and looked at me like I was half insane, "No. I am not taking her out in that water, you hear me? I am not going back in there. I need bleach, now."

Grace dismounted, but Romulus blocked her. "Just pull out your phone, Mrs. B. Please."

"What in the hell is going on?" she asked, using her authoritative, _mother_ tone.

"A couple of bodies in the grass," Bram said, speaking for the rest of us. "It would be the third today." Even if it was news to me and my mother, it wasn't to either vampire or my boyfriend. Gory climbed up on her horse and stuck her hand in with her dog. There were tears in her eyes. I walked over and rested my hand on her knee, trying to bring her attention back. She shook her head in silence, stopping me from speaking. Bram scowled, "She needs to leave, Abbey."

My mother had pulled out her phone, but just before she called, she looked at Bram and Gory, "Go. It's fine, I won't mention you."

I could see a measure of suspicion in my boyfriend's eyes as they trotted off toward the path. I mounted my horse, glanced to my mother and followed. Their head start had only been a few seconds, but it was enough to clear them from the path as I rode up. "Abbey," Romulus called, "Abbey!"

I paused at the trail, looking for my father. I waited, hoping that anyone alive would suddenly appear, but the only one to answer my thoughts was Romulus. "You can't trust them," he panted, "This can't be a coincidence. They go somewhere, they find bodies-"

"Was with him whole time," I replied, "Would've smelled it on him."

He scowled even though he knew I was right. Eventually, my father led his horse up and glanced around, "Grace not watching?"

"Trust me, Mr. B, your skills on horseback are the least of her worries." Despite the icy glare it got him, Romulus still managed to keep himself serious. He mounted his horse, his nose twitching, "I feel disgusting."

"Tell that to the fish," I replied. For a minute, I wished I'd ducked out on my parents. It was a selfish thing to think, especially toward the dead girls floating in the lake, but I did. I wished I'd had Romulus meet me down at Heath's for his family's weekend barbeque, somewhere Gory and Bram could've been just as happy as we were. I felt bad about telling her, and when I remembered that she'd thrown up, I looked at Romulus. "Is water that dirty?"

"Oh shit Abbey," he replied, seeming to have the same thought. I had to clean it up with something, even if nature would've done its job eventually. The last thing I wanted was to get Gory and Bram involved in it, even if they were already. One body was coincidence, but nobody else needed to have Romulus's train of thought.

"Leave it," he began, but I handed off my horse to my father and walked back on my own. Water, though being a nice idea, was impractical. I kicked over leaves with my shoe instead, and it did the job.

Police came and mostly talked to Grace, as she was enough of an authority figure to command their attention and my father hung protectively close to us. He was fearsome looking enough to make sure that nobody interfered. I couldn't tell if he was angry at us or the situation and I didn't want to ask, either. Eventually, though, he passed off his horse to Romulus and we walked down the path back to the stables.

"I'm sorry," I murmured as we checked them back in. One of the girls working there took them to be brushed, leaving us to wander off toward the cars.

"It's fine," Romulus said with a slight huff, "You take care of the pack as well as I do."

I looked down at my shoes and the splatter of dirt and flecks of blood on the soles. They looked like they'd met a combat zone. As my eyes lifted, I saw the familiar hearse and bolted toward it on instinct. Romulus sighed, but followed with lesser enthusiasm. "I thought you left," I called as I ran up.

Bram was sitting in the open back, one booted foot propped up on the bumper while the other dangled to the earth. A cigarette between his lips made him look more human. "I did," he replied after a long inhale. Smoke slid from his parted lips like evidence of a dragon. "But Gory's at home, and you deserve backup."

"Police didn't ask, we didn't tell," I replied. Whether they'd done it or not, I was covering for them. He seemed to sense it. Rising fluidly, he shut the back doors and righted the handles. He had to lock it manually, such a swift movement that it didn't look human no matter how many cigarettes he had on him. He looked at me with complete understanding, "Abbey, you know that she and I had nothing to do with this, just as we know you didn't."

I glanced over my shoulder at Romulus. His eyes returned to Bram from wandering the parking lot, "What?"

"The marks on the girl this morning, it was like she'd been attacked by some kind of animal. We know your pack didn't do this, just like we wouldn't think you committed the atrocity back in that lake. So you have to trust us as we do you when I vow to you that we had absolutely nothing to do with those murders."

They were calm, much calmer than I was becoming. People suspected us? Was that why Grace and Ivan had steered questioning away from us?

"I believe you, but I'm worried others won't. That's why Bloodgood sent you off," Romulus replied. "Just get home to her. We'll get together some other time, all of yours and all of ours."

Bram sized him up and voiced a simple thought that hadn't even thought to cross my mind, "What if it is just an animal?"

"Then it's big and it's rabid," Romulus replied. "Animals don't kill like that. Either it's one of ours, or somebody's trying to set one of us up."

We would've all put money on maul marks on the other two bodies. I saw a pair of silent ambulances start up the trail, attracting the attention of other people. I went toward the horse trailer, staying out of sight, glancing back to my boyfriend as he conversed with the other boy.

"There are times I actually like you, Devein. So if you know something, you better tell me straight."

"The same to you, Moon."

They looked at each other with something that bordered between hostility and brotherhood, and they clasped hands before going to their respective cars. Bram climbed in his car as I heard across the bay of trees a man retching wetly. I turned away from the sound into Romulus's shoulder, and he gently pressed his hand to my ear. "Just pretend we're not here," he murmured. "It'll be over soon, Abbey. Promise."


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

Days and nights blended together after the first murders. We tried to leave the girls out of it as best as we could, but they caught on pretty fast. We went from hiding out, making excuses for things we weren't doing to planning things maybe once a week and spending a lot of every night up on IM. I covered my tracks on Abbey's browsing history, but every so often I realized that Bram and I hated each other for a very long time for no reason at all. This was what we both ended up reduced to, sneaking around behind our girlfriends' backs for a murderer. Well, my girlfriend and his wife, but it was the same thing in the end. He had money for a ring, that was the only difference. I was still working on it.

I was fucking groggy when I woke up. I got six or seven hours, but it was noon and I was still tired. Abbey was hunting through her closet, clothes thumping on my body. I stretched, knocking half the stack she'd built up on me to the floor.

"Hey," she said teasingly, "Is what you get for sleeping all day."

I grunted, wriggling out from the rest and almost falling on my face. She scowled, clasping her hand around her crystal and climbed over the bed to me. Her eyes were filled with concern as she felt my face, "Is it too cold for you?"

I chuckled. She scowled, but she had no idea how much I'd wanted to crawl into bed with her and enjoy how cold her skin was. I tugged her close and kissed her lightly. Her lips were frosty in this heat, and she pressed herself against me like I was the only warm thing in the room. It was a great wake-up. Her hands ran over my chest, claws catching in my shirt. I grinned, scooped her up and dropped her back onto the bed. She let out a warm, bubbly laugh, winding her fingers in my shirt and tugging me down on top of her. Her clothes squeezed out from between us and the mattress like the filling of a jelly donut, tumbling silently onto the floor.

Her laughter bubbled out so happily that I forgot I spent half the night hunting for a killer. I kissed her and pressed her close. She pressed on my chest, torn between pulling me closer and resisting to finish whatever it was she was doing. "Romy, I was busy," she murmured. Her eyes glinted as she pouted playfully, the raw amethyst baring into mine persuasively. I traced her soft, plump lower lip with my thumb and shrugged, "One more kiss and I'll let go."

She kissed my cheek and pushed me off. I caught myself on the edge of the bed and laughed out loud, "Jeeze, strong grip there."

She rose her brows playfully, crawling back over her stack. I leaned over and smacked her backside, knocking her off the bed into her pile of clothes. I winced, regretting it instantly, but she laughed and held the seat of her shorts, "Ow! I am getting payback for that, Romulus Moon!"

I grinned sheepishly. She rose, tugging a bag out from under a stack of clothes and glancing to me. I laughed, "That's what this was all about?"

She produced a wallet and held out the cash inside for confirmation. I shook my head, barely escaping the blur of shaved Shiver as she leapt onto the bed, charged off and slammed into Abbey. As much as it probably hurt, my girlfriend laced her fingers in her mammoth's slight curls and kissed her face. I glanced up, noticing her dad in the doorway and saluted. "Morning, Mr. B."

"Have you been here all night?" he asked.

I shrugged. He scowled. Abbey pushed herself to her feet and kissed my cheek, "Going out with Heath and Frankie for a while. Trust you know how to get out."

I smiled, giving her a silent wave as she trotted up to her father and rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. He smiled, kissed her head and allowed her past. I tried to slip by after him, but he grasped my shoulder firmly. Even though I was kind of ahead of the guys my age, he was still twice my size and I'd be lying if I said he didn't scare the living shit out of me. "You be good to my little girl," he growled, "Or I make sure not even werewolves can find you."

"I don't doubt that, sir." I replied. "I wouldn't dream of it."

He growled lightly and allowed me to pass. I jogged down the stairs, following Abbey out. She had already climbed into Heath's Prius by the time I was outside and gave me a little wave as they zipped off down the road. I jogged across the street and slipped inside the garage, relatively unnoticed by my siblings until I got upstairs. Remus walked out of the bathroom and looked up at me, his youthfully wide eyes accusing, "You haven't been home in forever."

I went past him, unzipping my jeans as I went, "Ray, I just ran into the original yeti. I think it's time to leave me alone in the bathroom."

"You promised you'd start coming home more, when are you going to start coming home?" I ignored him for a minute while I emptied my bladder. He kept whining, though, whether I was concentrating on ignoring him or not. "You promised, Rom! We were gonna build a matchbox racer!"

"We were not," I replied.

"Yes we were! You said after you finished the tree house we could put together the rest!"

"There wasn't enough," I snapped, "Go play or something, will ya? I'm kinda busy here."

He stayed in the doorway, though, watching me pee. At least he stayed silent for the rest. I zipped up and flushed, glancing over to him as I washed up, "You know we didn't have enough left after that."

"And you couldn't ask Uncle Clawrk?" he persisted.

"What do you need a matchbox car for anyway. It's not nineteen fifty, I can get you one made out of plastic that runs on a battery." I grabbed my toothbrush and started hunting for the toothpaste, "Goddamn it, NINA! Where did you stick the toothpaste?!"

"How should I know?!" my baby cousin called up. I finally found it stuck to jars of nail polish in the drawer and scowled. "Coral blue number five," I muttered.

"It's mermaid party," he replied, "Nina brought it over. And I wanted to do something with you. Dad's always busy, but you weren't supposed to be. The pack never used to keep you away this much."

"I grew up," I said, trying to squeeze out the last of the tube. "Shit, is Mom grocery shopping?"

He shook his head, "She will later."

"Get me the list," I said, jamming the brush into my mouth. He went off obediently, leaving me to finish getting half-ready. Before he got back, I spit into the sink, rinsed off my brush and headed off to my bedroom for clothes. My nieces, Bella and Jade, were rifling around in my clothes.

"Woah, woah, ankle biters. What's the deal?" I picked them up by their shirts and put them aside.

"Do you have boy magazines?" Bella asked, trying to appear innocent.

"No, now get out of my room."

They dashed off, giggling like maniacs. I sniffed the clothes on my floor and flung them into clean and dirty respective piles, dumping the dirty ones in a garbage bag by the side of the dresser and putting the rest in a folded stack on top of my shoes in the closet. I grabbed an obviously clean pair of jeans and a shirt and went back to the bathroom, making sure to chain-lock my door on the way out. The girls were finishing up in there, leaving me to deal with Ray as he came toddling up the stairs like he was still a baby. He held the refrigerator sticky notes and looked up at me expectantly. "Put down toothpaste," I said, "Toilet paper, and Romulus's privacy."

He wrote the last one anyway and looked up at me. I ruffled his hair, "Alright, look. I'm gonna shower and go hang out with some friends of mine, I'll bring you along if you promise-" His face lit up. He was already beyond comprehension, but I lowered to his level and raised my tone to make him understand anyway. "_promise_ me that you will shut up, sit still and behave."

He nodded furiously with a wide grin. "Alright, go put that back and get on your shoes. Did you eat yet?"

"We ran out of honey buns," he replied.

"So eat some Cheerios or something," I replied. He toddled down the stairs and made a face. "Yeah, I know, they taste like dirt. But eat."

"Don't your friends have any food, or are they poor?" he asked. I wanted to laugh; we were in a house of at least fifteen people and _he_ was asking if my friends were poor.

"I'm not entirely sure if they eat," I said. He took the words at face value and as the girls came out, he went back to the kitchen. I caught them by their ponytails, "Did you wash?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"Promise?" I continued.

"_Yes_."

"Lick 'em."

They rolled their eyes and licked their palms to prove that they were clean. It was a trick that had worked for years with too many little kids in one family. I ducked in and locked the door before somebody else had the bright idea of taking to the bathroom. I didn't take a long shower- in a big family, long showers where other people were locked out weren't exactly practical- but I did the job I needed to do, finished cleaning myself up and headed out the way I'd come. I pulled my shoes on as I headed out, only to be met with the flapping velcro of a little kid's shoes. I paused to tie my laces by the door, letting Ray catch up. He grinned. I shut the flaps across the top of his and looked him directly in the eyes, "Promise me, if you have something to say that could possibly offend somebody, you won't say it."

He zipped his lips and grinned. Unable to ask much else, I ushered him toward the truck and hoped for the best.

...

It took almost half an hour to get out to Bram and Gory's place, and Remus behaved most of the way there. He whimpered when we got onto the tree-covered road leading up to the house, but as soon as he saw the impressive place ahead, he didn't stop talking. Not even for a minute.

Sometimes I forgot that my little brother expected the same thing of vampires that I had once; some crypt-dwelling creature that liked to rape and pillage little towns and leave trails of bloodless bodies in their wake, and not an old-soul teenage couple shacked up together in a freakin' mansion with a shitload of Shakespeare first editions. They expected me, but it was almost like they expected Ray. They were out in their yard, obviously sunscreen-coated. Gory's face was obscured by cat-eyed violet sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. She broke into an open smile as we pulled up to the house and waved us over, their puppy making a beeline for my brother.

"A puppy!" Ray exclaimed.

Bram waited for her to join him before they walked arm-in-arm over to me, like they couldn't stand being too far apart in their yard. I clasped his hand, mirroring his easy smile with one of my own.

"Is he one of yours?" Gory teased. Ray looked up at her with obvious glee, understanding quickly that her voice was full of all the wealth of this land.

"This is my little brother, Remus."

He smiled shyly up to her. She broke into one of these smiles people who actually liked kids usually wore and withdrew her hands from her husband's arm to take his hands and lead him inside. Their puppy nipped at her skirt, following with a wagging tail. I heard her murmuring to him and he stole a glance at me. I smiled, letting him run inside with the puppy nipping on his heels.

"Bram," she said, turning to us. "Don't take too long. You shouldn't be out in the sun for too long."

He gave her an understanding glance reserved for men really in love with their wives and watched her go inside without him. "What's the happiness about?" I asked.

He shrugged, "We'll tell you when we tell everyone else."

"What, having a kid?" I replied, trying to joke with him. He just stared off in her direction with the wistful expression of the young, stupid and massively in love. "Oh god," I said, "You are?"

"Shut up," he replied. His eyes flickered back, "Did you find out anything new?"

"No. Totally unrelated, seems like. Couple of tourist sisters we found in the lake, went missing like a month ago. They got picked up at a bar or something. The other girl, there's still absolutely nothing. I can't pry it out of Darren's dad, but I think they're thinking somebody like us did it too."

He nodded. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what I think," I replied. "There _are_ bears around here, wolves that don't walk on two legs. If she was camping or hiking or something, all she needed to do was piss one off to get a bad ending."

He nodded, "But in a monster town. Three bodies found in a week, regardless of where they came from. If this was a human town, they'd let it go as it is, but if they do and it turns out not to be such an easy cause, well...that would be bad."

I sighed. They had a landscape fit for a painting, not a postcard. "Piss anybody off lately?"

He glanced at me with a slightly amused smile, "Only you, I'd hope." I returned it with one of my own, nodding as he clasped me on the shoulder and led me toward the house. "We're not sure," he finally said, "but it's a possibility."

"Good for you," I replied, "Now you'll see what I live with having siblings."

Gory had catered to Ray's constantly growing toddler appetite and he seemed perfectly alright to be the king of their castle. He went to her and as she kissed him, she looked to me. "Discuss whatever you had to in private?" she teased.

"We were just talking sport, my love," he replied. "It wouldn't interest you anyway."

Ray looked at me with the happiest expression I had seen on his face in a very long time. I smiled tensely in reply, glancing back to my friend's wife. "Congratulations. Just in case."

She pushed his arm lightly, "I thought you said you'd wait."

"It's not my fault he can read minds," he replied. He glanced to my little brother, nibbling cookies, and motioned for him to follow. "Remus, would you like the grand tour?"

He glanced to me and when I nodded, shot to his feet. He took a pair with him and grasped Bram's hand to his obvious amusement. The least I could hope as they headed for the stairs was that he'd at least keep his mouth closed when he was eating.

"What were you really talking about, Romulus?" Gory murmured.

"If you were alright," I lied smoothly. "You were kinda green the last time we saw each other. I guess that might have to do with the maybe-you-know."

She smiled lightly, "Thank you for the concern. I'm glad you two have gotten closer. It really doesn't hurt to have the lot of you for friends."

"Yeah," I muttered. Thinking of the bodies we'd found, I couldn't exactly stop the thought; it hadn't exactly hurt _us._


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Twelve_

Frankie was leaning between the both of us when the car beside us, full of human boys, revved. Heath glanced over, but I smacked his arm, "Don't you dare."

"What, are you afraid of a little race?" they called over.

He tightened his grip on the wheel, "Abbey...watch for cops?"

Despite the fact that he was about to attempt to race a Volkswagen, I nodded. The moment the light changed color, he took off. Frankie shrieked, but we were tearing off, neck-in-neck with the other car. I saw a glint of black chrome and yelled, "Break!"

Heath slammed on his breaks, bringing the Prius to a standstill in the middle of the road. A part of me was just thankful his tires hadn't screeched very loudly. The other car flew by the cruiser, awakening the sirens and lights.

"How did you see that?" Frankie said, partially left breathless by my best friend's reckless driving. Heath eased off the break, shooting me an exhilarated grin. I shrugged, attempting not to smile as we rolled by the other car on our way to the mall.

"It happens sometimes," I said once we had passed them, "I notice things other people do not."

"It's your werewolf powers," Heath said. For the first time, I realized he wasn't teasing. "Romulus totally gave you werewolf powers."

I smiled knowingly and playfully punched his shoulder, "Maybe this means you finally stop teasing me about him."

He winced. I didn't think I'd hit him that hard, but Frankie's head quirked with understanding. I tried to apologize with a smile, but the hit was more emotional than it was physical. At the next light, he rubbed his arm to save face. "Yeah, definitely werewolf powers."

Salem Hills Mall wasn't far from our part of town. It was right along the border between Salem, our monster city, and New Salem, the side of the city the humans had...kind of fled to. The mall ended the border of our de facto segregation. I saw Jackson hanging out with his friends from New Salem High, Clair and Chad, and their somewhat-friend Lilith.  
We all went very silent when we saw Lilith for a few reasons. Firstly, she rarely left New Salem because of her overprotective family of monster hunters. While she wasn't set against us anymore, that didn't stop her family from reminding her that her uncle had _gone missing_ last October while hunting. Secondly, I never told her that missing meant dead. I never told her that for all intents and purposes...I had killed him. I got to know Lilith a little bit after the incident that made her path cross ours, and mostly she had been trying to expose us because she knew. But she hadn't been able to prove anything, and we had proved ourselves to be friends to her, even when she wanted us to pay for what we'd very obviously caused. He'd been her guardian after her mother died. The Van Hellscream clan had been struggling since the Dracula incident a little more than a century ago. They kept getting murdered by monsters who thought it was just, after they'd done a lot of killing themselves. She was living with her uncle's ex-wife now, and I could tell even from afar that it wasn't going well. And it was all my fault.

Frankie and Heath froze in the car, waiting and watching. We could've pulled away and gone in a different exit, but I removed my seatbelt and climbed out. They budged a little slowly, but they budged. Jackson and his group were standing outside the movie theater, discussing their options.

"I don't know," Clair said. Her usual tights and attire had been traded for a dark purple Asking Alexandra tank top that hung off her slim figure and a pair of black shorts with ties up the sides and a pair of studded suspenders hanging down over her legs. Chipped black nail polish showed against her striped flip-flops. Chad looked like he was going golfing in his stark white board shorts with his matching glasses propped up on top of his head. He had a green shirt on with it. Jackson hung back, pushing up his glasses. For once he looked like he'd dressed simply and casually, almost matching Lilith. "The only things that look interesting are post-apocalyptic," Clair continued, "and those usually suck."

"We always have next weekend," Chad replied, "Or, you know, we can see _Gatsby_ again."

Lilith's eyes flicked up and she smiled slightly. It was a little, apologetic, tense smile. She wore a cap-sleeved shirt in canary yellow and black jeans. She was a golden girl down to her teal eyes and her golden hair, and she looked so normal with this crowd that it was almost painful. Anyone who knew her knew, though. Jackson glanced up, shot me a smile but courteously refused to interrupt his chatting friends. It was alright, I didn't need attention brought to me. I closed the space between myself and Lilith and pulled her in for a hug.

She laughed, "You're nice and cold."

I almost told her. I almost blurted it out right there in the middle of the entryway to Salem Hills Mall. I almost apologized, and I almost tried to ask what she thought of the bodies that had been found in Salem. But I just squeezed her tightly and said, "Good."

She accepted the hug silently, wrapping her slender arms around my back in reply. We held on until it became awkward, then I let her go. Chad was staring and Clair had resumed work on the ring candy on her hand. "Something you want to tell us, Lilith?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, I just hugged a portable air conditioner."

I smiled. It seemed to put things in perspective for the humans, because they both rushed to me and hugged me then. I laughed, feeling Heath's arm snake around my neck, "Nah, this one is mine. I'm a fire elemental, I need it."

Jackson rolled his eyes. I glanced to Lilith, tempted to ask how she was, but she wandered over to Jackson before I could speak and quietly asked him what he wanted to see. He went on telling her about one of the sci-fi movies on the matinee and let me wander off when his friends dispersed from me. Heath kept his arm around me though, keeping me from going back to them. "What was that about?"

I shook my head. His fingers lowered to lace with mine. We passed by a set of polished windows and I tried not to enjoy the fact that we looked very nice together. His skin was warmer than Romulus's, so I knew I wouldn't have a high tolerance for closeness to it without worrying about my crystal flaring up, but it was nice while we had it. He stopped to look at overpriced phone cases, letting the observation continue. Our skin tones were so close to being alike- mine was blue-tinged white, his was yellow-tinged. I wondered for a minute if it was because of the sulfur that came with fire. I wondered if the fire smelled, because I'd never taken notice before. Did his house smell like the smoke of a matchstick? I bet the air around it tasted like you could barbeque on the walls. Frankie caught me staring, but she didn't say a word. I was about as tall as Heath in flats, and I was stronger than him. With Romulus, the inequality wasn't so pronounced, but I could see it in us.  
Whether I wanted to admit it or not, Heath was a totally different kind of monster than me, and not just because of our elements. It made our friendship a little more sacred.

"Hey," he murmured, squeezing my hand,"Are you okay?"

I knew I looked sad, staring off into space the way I did. I squeezed his fingers that were still laced with mine and nodded. He didn't believe me. He grinned, though, ever able to keep up an act and tugged me off toward the ice cream parlor, "Alright, it's lunch time for _my ladies_."

"I genuinely hope you don't have multiple ladies," Skelita said from behind the counter upon our entering. The skeletal girl had a small, warm smile for us regardless of her teasing to her best friend's boyfriend. Heath reached around the counter and took her hand, giving it a warm kiss. "Is Jin on break yet?"

"No, but she will be at one. Maybe you could stick around." She ignored his flirting as much as I did. It was nice to see that he had grown closer with Skelita since she and Jin were like sisters. They did live together while their families were in their respective countries, after all. I couldn't help but smile at the idea that Heath had probably taken a measure of responsibility for them.

"What will it be?" she asked, glancing to us.

Frankie considered her options beforehand, and looked up with a wide grin, "Mint chocolate chip."

"Of course," Heath teased.

"Superman," I said. It was colorful, to say the least.

"You know what?" Heath interjected, "I'm going to get the exact same thing...and a churro."

"You're going to get fat before you're thirty, but okay," Skelita teased him. He broke into a grin and flexed his slender muscles, "What, you think I can't work out?"

"You don't work out," Jinafire said from behind him. He jumped and broke into a beaming, love-struck grin. He threw his arms around his girlfriend and pulled her in for a hug, making her laugh. He was enthusiasm, she was calm, and as they pressed together I noticed that they seemed to fit against each other perfectly. Her tail swished beneath her skirt, swaying the hem. She turned her face to kiss his neck and make him blush. "How are you?" he muttered, toying with her hair shyly.

"Tired," she replied, "I have to work double shifts because the girl after me called in sick, but I'm making more."

"You need a vacation," he murmured in her ear. "I got you some ice cream."

She withdrew and kissed him very gently on the lips, "You're a very good boyfriend."

I huffed on the glass of the ice cream case and drew an exaggerated heart. He shot me a look that if he hadn't been in the presence of girls, he would've given me the finger. I grinned, pleased with my teasing, and pulled out my wallet. He got very suddenly noble and pulled out his own, "Ah, no, I got this."

"Chivalry isn't dead yet," Frankie said with a giggle.

I watched my best friend cuddle his girlfriend as they slid into a booth and allowed Frankie to sit on the edge beside me. Heath broke off pieces of cinnamon-sugar pastry for her and she fed him the occasional spoonful of rainbow ice cream. Frankie and I glanced at each other, trying not to laugh out loud at their overly-stereotypical young-couple-cuteness. I wondered if Romulus and I looked like that to other people, or if we just looked celestially bound to each other. I worried about him. He'd never been this serious about a girl before, and if things didn't work out someday with her, I didn't know if he would get over it. It was silly in retrospect, people rarely ever married their first love, but I looked at them and I really hoped they would because gold and yellow went together well. Because their hair side-by-side looked like a Christmas tree, even though I was pretty sure all of her green was dyed in. When their fingers brushed, she looked at him and he looked at her, and even if it was just a flicker of a look, I saw just how much it meant to both of them. I wanted to break the silence and ask Frankie if she had anyone like that, but she was happily staring off at the array of food. None of us needed love to be happy, but it sweetened the deal a lot, and seeing Jinafire and Heath together eased my guilt quite a bit that I had never felt the same way about him when he had a crush on me.

"So," she said, breaking the silence before anyone else figured out what to say, "Spectra's blog had one big rumor this morning."

Frankie's eyes lifted with vague interest. I shrugged it off, of course the ghost girl gossiped, it was probably the only thing keeping her tied to earth. Heath was content with his churro until she leaned in and whispered, "Apparently, Spectra talked to one of the kids from Belfry Prep, and they saw a vampire dumping bodies and trying to make it look like someone's framing the werewolves. She hung around the police station until she got a statement on some 'real, hardcore investigative reporting.'"

"Do they know who?" I whispered.

"No. But she said she'd actually put money on Bram and Gory, because they live out there. They know the woods." She straightened up a little, glancing to her boyfriend with a wry, catty little smile, "I wouldn't doubt if there were more they just didn't use."

"That's creepy," Heath said, his tone too impressed to be afraid.

"They're not like that," I said, scooping out a spoonful of rainbow. "Gory was sick when she found the bodies and he was worried about her. They aren't bad people, they were just misguided once."

Frankie nodded with a mouthful of ice cream preventing her from speaking. Her eyes kept darting back to the cookies. She swallowed and voiced her thought before getting up to indulge the craving. "She's right. I mean I've hung out with them since, Gory's kind of entitled and kind of spoiled but she's really nice, and even though Bram's kind of..."

"A dick?" Heath offered.

She shot him a look. "He's not capable of murder and neither is she. They talk like it, but they're not capable of doing it. I mean, have you seen the way he looks at her?"

"Didn't stop them from trying with Abbey," he pointed out. I didn't speak up, but she shot him a look. She understood that things done in anger were never from the heart. I'd seen the vampires' hearts. They weren't bad enough to actually murder, I didn't believe that, and if they had it was for their own safety. I trusted them, and I had enough faith in Romulus to know that he would have more than a sneaking suspicion brought on by coincidence if they'd really done something wrong.

"Well," Jinafire said, "It's just gossip anyway. The day I believe Spectra Vondergiest will be the day the earth stands still, and that's scientifically impossible."

Heath just shrugged and kissed her cheek, "I love it when you talk sense into me."


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

Heath dropped me off on my street just as the sun started dipping behind the horizon. I waved to the girls in the back seat, completely unsurprised when Jinafire climbed up and took my seat beside him. He grinned and pulled away, the light guitar riffs of his stereo trailing after him. I headed up the step, leaving the gate open since my boyfriend's truck was in his driveway, and sat myself on the edge of the porch. The breeze was warm and damp like it had been raining. I closed my eyes. Isolating myself from the rest of the world was easier than I imagined. I could smell the warm hay in Nightmare's stable, the rich mud that confirmed my nagging suspicion that it had rained. Someone had mowed their lawn beforehand and the faint scent of cut grass reached my nose on the wind. I smelled clover and food and the scents of every person. Someone was grilling, I could smell the charcoal. I could smell the wood and paint and primer beneath me, I could smell the department store perfume on my clothes from being close to Frankie. I could smell Heath, and the always-present smell of Romulus that clung to my skin and everything else of mine.

Gradually, I listened. Chirping bugs and quiet birds. Everything with a heartbeat was unveiled to me. I heard my parents in the kitchen, making dinner and teasing each other about how much she worked and how little he did. I could hear children playing down the block, and dogs' tails swishing in the air as they chanced bouncing tennis balls. The wooden steps beneath my legs were rough and worn, but still comfortable. They had been sat on by many a person that wasn't me. The air tasted earthen, and gradually I opened my eyes to take note of every vivid color against the slowly darkening sky, a luscious blue somewhere between the ocean and the navy of the fresh night, streaked with gray clouds and spattered in stars.

The door across the street opened and Romulus dashed out. He grinned, nudging the fence shut with his bare foot, "How was it?"

I gave him a tired smile and let him settle in at my side before I spoke. His fingers laced with mine, warm and work-firmed and still so soft. Our claws clicked almost inaudibly against each other's while I traced my fingers against his. "Fun," I murmured. I raised my little bags, one from a candy shop and another from the lotion ship that Frankie just insisted on going in. It hadn't stopped Heath from getting a woman's opinion on candles to burn with Jinafire on their nighttime picnics, girl's place or not.

"Good," he murmured, pressing his lips to my temple, "You need to have more fun. Not everything in life is so serious."

I gave him a look. He smiled anyway. I could see it in his eyes that he had missed me too, but the time apart had been welcome. I set my bags beside me and turned my body fully toward his. The fingers of my free hand brushed his cheek, causing his eyes to flutter ever so softly. I caressed his face, his hands holding the other one of mine, tracing cold across his temple before switching to the other side. They trailed down his neck and swept across his collarbone and up the other side. His eyes began to open slowly, half-lidded and predatory. I caressed the back of his neck, spreading the coolness over his spine and tracing to his ears. I slipped my other hand from his and lightly placed my fingers to the tips of his ears, slightly pointed like a puppy's. His arms ensnared my waist, rising slowly to close our tiny distance. The wolf in me gave in with just a look. Our eyes locked, the pure emerald heat of his awakening the thing in me that I had actively tried to keep down. He blinked, slowly, bringing himself closer until his mouth had descended on mine.

My hands slid from his ears to his neck, arms linking around slowly. He pressed my body to his so tightly I knew he could feel all of me against him, just as I could feel each firm muscle against me. He tugged me up the last stair onto the floor of the porch and laid down with me. My lips parted, allowing his tongue access. He used it sparingly in kissing me, always leaving me wanting more. He kissed like a man. He kissed like he'd been kissing girls for years, even though I knew that wasn't the case. It was just one long, slow kiss, but it made my senses come alive. I caressed the slight stubble on his jaw, I noticed the softness of his skin and the gentle pinpricks of his claws against my back. He nibbled my lower lip softly as he pulled away, so gentle with me that I felt myself softening to him.

"Abbey," he breathed, "I need you."

I slipped my knee between his, earning a purr of approval. He broke into a beaming smile, "No...not like that. Not right now. I just need you."

You could love a person so much that it made you sick. You could love with all your being and get nothing in return. Love was stupid and unproductive most of the time, but a need transcended that. He held me like a treasure, but he knew he didn't have to be gentle. He didn't treat me like I was stupid or fragile like these other boys and their girls. I was his equal, and he needed me. His fingers brushed my hair from draping over my cheek as we laid there on the painted wood, kissed by the nighttime air. I felt the brush of his claws and I had never been less afraid in my life. I pressed myself closer to him, tucking my face into his neck. I kissed his throbbing pulse and murmured, "I need you too."

We laid in silence for a very long time. His fingers brushed my lower back over and over again, toying with my shirt that still was sort of damp from sitting on the hot leather seats of Heath's car in the afternoon. He wrapped the hem around his finger and unwound it slowly. It was when we heard the creaking of cabinets and the clink of plates, knowing that my family would soon emerge, that we sat up together slowly and resumed our rightful places on the top stair.

He seemed to wake from his comfort, stretching slightly and running his fingers through his hair. "I saw Bram and Gory today. He thinks she might be pregnant. She doesn't smell it, but they're kind of a different breed. I'm not sure if it goes the same way."

I nodded, "Good for them." It really was. They were old enough, mature enough. They didn't think like children like our friends.

"It kinda makes me think, y'know? We'll graduate next year. I'm pretty sure my parents want me to move out, but Ray wants me to stay close. I'll probably do community college or something, get a job I like that I can make practical money in."

I hadn't thought about the future much. It made me a little sick to think that a day might come when I might not have this. Sitting on the porch with the one person in the world I could honestly say I needed, in the afterglow of an afternoon with some of my best friends. Maybe Heath and Jinafire would stay in Salem. Maybe he'd go home with her to her parents and learn how to speak a new language. He had the ability to surprise me, I didn't doubt he could do it if he really wanted to. I knew Frankie would stay, but Clawdeen would go. Draculaura and Clawd might go. Cleo would probably stay with Ghoulia, and so would Deuce. Howleen didn't need to worry about it yet. Lagoona and Gil would compromise and leave. My parents...my parents would probably go back home to be alone together, that was if Grace could ever dream of leaving Monster High. Maybe they would never stay together after all. This place was her blood as our homeland was his. Maybe they were staying together because they thought I would leave and it wasn't fair to have to make me go now.

He must've seen the horror on my face, because he laced his fingers through mine and whispered, "And by graduation, I'm gonna ask you to marry me. What you say is up to you, but I thought I should give you a heads-up."

I looked at him with near-complete relief. My friends could go and live their lives as long as they kept in touch. My parents didn't have to stay together, because we were going to have two families. Them and his. I smiled slightly, and I could imagine myself in that house across the street. I didn't know what I'd be doing or where I'd be headed, but I could imagine it. I squeezed his hand tightly. "Thank you."

"I love you," he replied. It was a silly thought to think that those three words held so much power, but they did. They successfully finished off the comfort that I needed, and I linked my arm through his and squeezed it tightly.

A little boy came dashing out of the house across the street in pajamas, running clear across the road without looking and spurring my boyfriend to his feet with fury in his voice. "What the hell was that, Ray?!"

Remus dashed up to us and leapt in my lap. I could see that his feet were bleeding, and I pressed him into my chest, even as Romulus pulled his round little face from the crook of my neck, "What the fuck is wrong with you?! If a car had been coming, you'd be dead!"

"I'm sorry," he whimpered.

"Are you fucking stupid?!" he shouted before taking him tightly against his chest. He rocked him, climbing off the stairs and just standing on the lawn, rocking him like his own son. I heard him murmur, "Don't you ever do that again. Do you hear me? Don't you ever fucking scare me like that again, I thought somebody was gonna tear around the corner and wipe you out."

The little boy was sobbing, his breath releasing in whines as he pressed his face into my boyfriend's shoulder. "What happened?" Romulus finally murmured.

"I don't know," he whimpered, "They started fighting, and Nina threw a bowl..."

Romulus sighed. I put my bags on my arm and opened my arms for him. He handed Remus to me, his expression softening slightly, "Save me a plate?"

I nodded. He headed off down to the other house and I carried his baby brother inside. "Your brother is a good alpha, he take care of everything."

He nodded, cuddling into my arms like a wounded puppy. "I like you, Abbey," he murmured.

"I like you too," I replied and carried him upstairs to clean him up.

...

The body landed to the earth with a thump.

"It's not enough," a man's deep growl murmured.

"Oh, it will be," she said gently, "This is the last one. Now it's time to kick it up a notch." Her gemstone eyes glinted as she beheld the rest of the pack, her covered mouth upturned into a tiny smile. "Bring the rest. We have work to do."


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14_

Nightmare galloped around in her corral, playing a game of chase with Shiver that switched roles on such a whim that it reminded me of kids on a playground. I half expected them to bump into each other. The longest day of the year had finally reached us, and even though it was late, the sun hadn't entirely dipped behind the trees just yet. Romulus approached quietly, attempting to sneak up behind me, and I let him believe he had. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me away from the corral fence, giving me a warm squeeze. I laughed, lacing my fingers with his and pressing our hands to my chest. He kissed my cheek warmly, "Ray's been singing your praises since we came over last night. I think he's as in love with you as I am now."

I smiled, "Highly doubt anybody as in love with me as you."

He pursed his lips slightly and shrugged, turning me to face him as if he were twirling me, "That's probably true. Except maybe Heath, but...nah, not even Heath."

"So, what are we doing today?" I murmured, linking my arms around his neck. He stole a kiss, breaking into a small smile, "Well, I asked your parents to let your curfew slide a while...and we're going on an actual date. Just you and I, dinner and the retro double feature." His eyes were bright with the possibility of alone time that didn't involve the confines of my bedroom. I squeezed his shoulders, "Let me get real shoes."

He let go of me to let me dash upstairs, nearly colliding with my mother as she left my room with the laundry basket in her hands. I grinned, "Watch Shiver for me?"

She smiled and pulled me in for a warm hug, "Go, have fun. Be a teenager."

"I love you Mama," I murmured, slipping into my room. My clothes were neatly stacked on my bed, set beside a simple royal blue wrap dress and a pair of matching flats. My breath caught; it must've been brand new. Had they planned this? Either way, I cleaned up and changed quickly. Grabbing my purse, I raced down the stairs and hugged my father before he could get away. He patted the top of my head and tucked a lock of hair gently behind my ear, "Go, have fun. Before I change my mind." Even though I knew he wouldn't, I rushed out anyway.

Romulus was waiting by his car in front of the house. It looked cleaner than usual, and I noticed the toolbox in the back instantly. He flashed me a smile and opened the passenger side door, "Your carriage, my lady."

I rolled my eyes and ignored his hand to climb in myself. He chuckled as he shut the door, and I could hear him mutter "stubborn" as he walked around to his side. He climbed in, shut the door firmly and turned the key, giving me a moment to reply, "Is why you love me."

He glanced to me with a little smile. "It's not the only reason why I love you."

Every time he said it, a little part of me glowed. It was a strange thing to admit, especially where I'd come from and what I'd grown up learning. Love, though cherished, was weakness. I didn't mind being weak to him sometimes. The last time it had gotten the better of me, my life had changed for the considerable better. Those human genes I had were amped up now, as he put it. Even though I'd never thought of having the new senses that I had, it didn't change how much I loved them. I'd grown dependent, and anyone who went from semi-mortal to gaining the senses of a wolf would understand.

"How's the moon been?" he asked casually, as if he hadn't been planning to ask that question all night. His eyes gave him away like usual.

I tried not to smile, "You would know. Have been at every one."

"I mean like...to you. Can you feel it when it's not directly on you? Do you get these...warm chills in your skin, like you're about to completely lose yourself?"

I shrugged. Most of our moons were spent down at the river with the pack. The only chills I was used to having were cold ones after we got sopping wet swimming and crawled out to dry in chilly night air, huddled together like puppies so the moonlight wasn't drying each other at all, but instead the heat of twenty people pressed together. Realizing I hadn't answered, I glanced back to him and watched his face. He kept his eyes on the road, hoping the blur of greenery had only distracted me and that I wasn't trying to cover up the extent of my nonexistent abilities. I did smile then; it was so very like Romulus to be paranoid about developing powers I wasn't even sure he had. "No. Only chills I get are with you."

He blushed. It was the single cutest thing I could honestly say I had ever seen, besides Shiver. As we pulled up to Salem Hills Mall, I couldn't help but smile. He hadn't parked at the movie theater entrance, so I had the necessary, nagging suspicion that he was going to try taking to me to one of the more classy restaurants tacked on to the mall like an afterthought. He looked sheepish as he parked. Dismounting the truck was easier for him than taking my arm afterward, the gentlemanly front more composed than an orchestra. "I hope you like it. I mean, it's not vampire quality, but...still."

The worry eased as he led me to the door. It was a nice place, so nice that I worried about how much this was costing him. He looked nice and not a bit out of place, surrounded by other people dressed casually nicely. I took notice of a few of our friends on family dinners, so my worry about how much it was costing him eased. The attendee taking reservations smiled at him, rekindling the horror for just a moment that he'd gone too far, but he didn't seem to share the same concern. With Doctor and Mrs. Stein, and Frankie, across the room, I hoped he didn't decide to take today to propose.

"The movie's at seven," he replied, "So...we have a while."

"I didn't bring shopping money," I murmured, sliding into my own seat at our booth so he didn't feel obliged to try any chivalry with it. He slid in across from me, leaning forward slightly, "Something wrong?"

I shrugged. He couldn't have expected me to feel instantly at home in a place like this. It was the kind of place where a scene like our friends wouldn't be welcomed, and coincidentally, all of these people knew how to behave. In all the months I'd spent in Salem, I couldn't remember being to a place like this once. It was painfully off-putting for someone who had spent their childhood traveling to a wooden dining hall for dinner with an entire tribe of family members waiting to give and receive life updates in short-worded sentences and talking over each other to maximize the use of oxygen.

"If there's one thing you're not, it's a good liar," he murmured. The words cracked my worry just a bit and I smiled, even though it was a little forced. "I don't feel like I belong here," I murmured. The woods, the wild, that we had in common, that we understood. I didn't feel as human as he did. I felt like Andy Beast- I slid out of the outdated wild and forced myself to learn the ways of a whole new world. Everything from there was chance.

"If I belong here," he replied, his tone gentle, "So do you."

...

My normal curfew on a weekday was ten; it was almost midnight from the traffic on the drive back. I hadn't understood either of the movies we watched, but apparently I laughed when it was appropriate. Romulus called them slapstick humor; technically no one had to understand it, since they were foreign too. He played the classic rock station very quietly as we pulled down the streets of settled houses and onto our own to beat the downtown foot traffic that associated itself with Friday nights in the heart of Salem. The sun hadn't gone down until long after we were in the movies, making the night look fresh and warm. The air was a little sticky with the lingering traces of earlier humidity, and the inside of the car managed to retain its woodsy smell after being so affected by it. It clung to our clothes and filled the space between us with comfortable silence and a warmth that could only be described as tangible love.

"That was nice," I murmured. He pulled down our street and we found the lights of our houses turned off. It was an uncommon occurrence, but I had a key.

"It was," he replied. "We should do it again sometime."

I could imagine nights like these on a regular basis. Nice dinners and movies, going walking or shopping together like normal people. I still got my door for myself as he parked in my driveway, and we wandered up the porch together. I let myself in, greeted with Shiver sleeping on the couch, and called out for my parents. I went back to the kitchen, taking note of Nightmare tucked away in the safety of her stable, and called out for them again. The answering machine let out its mechanized voice, startling me, but I reassured myself with the knowledge Romulus had pushed it while probably searching for answers.

"Abbey," my mother's voice filled the empty ground level as it came through the machine, "Remus went missing this evening. Romulus's siblings were dropped off at their friends' houses and we've gone to help his parents search-"

I dashed into the main room, checking my phone. No messages had come to either of us. She went on to say that the pack was out with them, that they'd find him and that they didn't want us to worry. The timestamp was sunset, at nine PM. I abandoned my purse on the coffee table and shed my shoes. He looked at me like I was insane.

"We have to go out there," I replied, forgoing the sudden idea to put on some decent scavenging clothes. "We need to find him."

I dashed into my room and had stripped down to my underwear when he appeared in my door, "What are we going to do, the woods? They have to be out there, they're probably crawling it. It's better for us to take the car and drive around, see if he went to the park or something. If he's wandering and they left for the woods, then he could be anywhere." I paused, but threw on more comfortable clothes anyway. The last thing I wanted to do was chase a little boy in a dress. Barefoot and sans anything useful, I ran out of the house with him, leaving the lights on but locking the door in our wake. We had just dashed to his car when I paused, seeing the red and blue lights of a police car coming up the street.

He abandoned the open door to rush down to the sidewalk. My heart clenched in my chest, praying that they were bringing home our little wanderer. I recognized the officer that stepped out of the car as it stopped; Luken's father. From the look on his face, I knew I couldn't listen. I crawled into the car and started the ignition, the classic rock station trickling out and muffling everything. I froze with my hands on the wheel; I didn't know how to drive his car. He didn't come running. I didn't hear anything for a long moment until someone let out a soul-wrenching roar and smashed something metal. It was then that I forced myself to crawl out of the truck and watch as Romulus destroyed one of his garbage cans, stopping only to grasp a fistful of his hair and turn back to the men watching him.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?!" he roared. Tears were streaming down his face, and I lost my will to not listen. I went closer, leaving his car running. "I could've done something, why didn't you call me?!"

"There were enough of us," Luken's father murmured. "It wasn't hard to find him."

"When?!" my boyfriend screamed. "Why didn't anybody call me?!"

"Nine fifteen," the older man murmured. "They're still at the hospital."

I didn't know the way, but I could figure out his car. I glanced to him and he took off for it. I ran back, sliding in through the driver's seat. Neither of us bothered with seatbelts as he peeled back in reverse. The car gave us an escort, and I was the one who had to turn off the truck as he tore inside. I followed like a robot without oil, and I hadn't gotten farther than the lobby when I saw them. My friends, all wrapped together in a bunch, my pack, consoling their alpha. My heart cracked, but I wandered on past them anyway. I saw the only slightly familiar faces of his parents, his mother clinging to her husband, her claws embedded in his shirt. My heart cracked a little more, but I wandered over to what they were looking at anyway.

There should've been a sheet over him, that was the first thing my mind processed. He should've had a blanket or something, because Remus looked very much awake. And he was very exposed, and very bloody, and a great many of the wounds were still open. They were horrible, and my breath left my chest. It took a very long moment for my brain to process that the reason he wasn't screaming or crying or suffering at all was because he wasn't awake, he was dead. My knees gave out and I sunk out of the window that allowed me to see him, and I gasped for air. _No._ I had seen him this morning. I had waved to him from my room. I kissed his head, I played with him in the dirt, I bandaged his foot, I held him on the swing, I loved him, _no._ He was just a baby, he had his whole life ahead of him, he couldn't be dead, he wasn't dead, _no._ No. No no. No. Yes.

I was making a sound that was a very broken sound, and I found my way to my feet and I ran out. He took one look at me and threw his arms around me, he pulled me in and he engulfed me, and our friends surrounded us. They were trying to soothe and trying to ask at the same time, and I couldn't process the words flying around me. For the first time in almost a year, I didn't understand. It was all foreign. I didn't speak it, I didn't read it, I didn't know it. I clung to Romulus because he was the only thing in this room that wasn't a stranger. I tried to breathe, but even that was hard. And then we sunk to the floor, and something in him fully broke, and he howled. And I screamed. I didn't know how else to get the feeling in my chest out, but it released my tears, so I kept doing it. And they tried to console us, but not even we could hear anything beyond ourselves.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

I had been to Romulus's house only a handful of times in the time we'd been together and most of them weren't spent inside. I stayed at the hospital with him overnight and only returned home the next afternoon to pack up a bag of my things and go across the street. I was home for a few hours before his family returned, and I straightened up after them. Their house was bigger on the inside, big enough to accommodate all of the people living in it at the moment pretty well. I knew which room was Remus's. I didn't touch it.

Romulus beat the rest of them home. He strode in as I was picking up his clothes, threw me a glance and proceeded to collapse in his bed. I set the laundry basket on the floor and took up the bed beside him, folding my body over his as if I could protect him from his grief.

"I could've done something," he muttered.

"No, you couldn't have. You heard the doctor," I murmured. He winced and buried his face into his pillow. I didn't waste the breath of explaining that Remus probably would've wanted it this way- we'd spent a few hours prolonging the inevitable. He'd been happy up until that moment. I didn't tell him that the little boy had idolized him, or that he'd probably been killed as soon as he'd been taken. I tried to pretend that I didn't understand what a post-mortem wound was, or that I felt relief when I heard that no one would've been able to do anything because it had likely been instant and painless, as soon as he'd been lured off the property. I tried not to derive comfort in the fact that even if he was dead, he hadn't suffered in dying. That was the least I could've hoped for.

As I put on Romulus's laundry and transferred his brothers' into the dryer, I heard the racing sound of a Chevy engine. It sounded almost like an Impala, but the only Chevy I knew didn't belong to any of the Moon family. I put the detergent in the proper cup and shut the lid, clicking the button for a normal cycle before letting the machine do its thing. All this time watching my mother function had given me some life skills at least; I could make basic food and help around their house. The doorbell rang and I abandoned the basket on top of the washer to go get the door.

As soon as I freed the lock, the door burst open and I found myself engulfed in the lukewarmth of a vampire's hug. I blinked, processing the fact that Gory and Bram were on the doorstep before my arms wound around her in return. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "You must be devastated."

I couldn't find the words to express to her what devastated actually was and where we really were. I floundered for something to say, grateful when the stairs creaked and signaled my boyfriend's arrival. Gory released me and went to him, waiting until he'd reached the landing before embracing him. He looked dazed and momentarily confused before he wrapped his arms around her in return.

"If there's anything we can do," Bram spoke up, leaving his sentence hanging in case Romulus had something to suggest.

It was as if hearing the vampires speak had struck a match onto wet tinder. After so much being said, it had finally caught. His eyes began to brighten, and they did so furiously. The denial had been momentary, the grief, extensive. It wasn't finished, I could see that, but it was coupled with a kind of fury I had never seen from him before. He released Gory and stepped toward her mate, "I want you to help me hunt down the son of a bitch that killed my brother. Whether he killed those girls or not, I don't care, but I'm getting revenge for my brother."

"If it's the same killer, their motive has changed," Bram said gently, "The only reason I could see anyone broadening their spectrum this late into the killings is because they don't want to get caught."

"And the others weren't shown mercy," Gory said. Romulus tensed, but listened. "I heard from Valentine that most of the wounds were inflicted after he was already dead. Those girls were slaughtered alive, they suffered."

"And how the fuck would Valentine know?" he nearly growled.

Her eyes widened slightly, "He came with us this morning. We had an appointment."

For a moment, Romulus stared at her. We were both trying to process everything, and we could hear approaching cars. He sighed, "Where did you park?"

"Abbey's driveway," Bram replied. Romulus nodded and headed up the stairs, leaving us to follow. We reconvened in his room, Gory taking up his desk chair and Bram leaning against the door while Romulus laid on his bed as if he was too ill to move. I sat beside him with all the loyalty of a trained collie. Sometimes I felt that way, as if being in the pack had inadvertently domesticated me. We were supposed to be a bunch of wild dogs, but we were loyal to each other and we took care of each other. I didn't doubt that before the night was over, we would take to the yard, and even before the moon returned at its peak, we'd go hunting again. It occurred to me as I sat beside him, listening to the vampires' theories, that we had potential to become the thing people thought we were. We could hunt in the human part of town. Leave a drunk or a criminal or two as a message, and draw out our killer.

"Think the pack at the halfway house knows anything about this?" Bram asked Gory, successfully drawing my attention.

"What pack?" I replied, nudging Romulus. He didn't budge, he was sound asleep.

"A small pack came through the other night at Mrs. Kindergrubber's halfway house," Gory said, "There were maybe four or five of them, from what I hear. Robecca Steam and Hoodude live there, if you want to ask them-"

"Do they go out at night?" I asked, "Or just before sunset?"

"I wouldn't know," she replied, "but do you even know how many people do?"

The killings were brutal enough to be vampire or werewolf; not many other monsters were capable of that. It was safe to say I had a large and high-up pool of potential killers. My eyes focused on her again, "How good are you with computers?"

"I hack the CIA pretty regularly and they haven't caught on yet," she replied. Bram rolled his eyes; I wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not, but I could use the confidence.

"I want someone to find me every angle of footage from the night Ray was taken. From everywhere they could've been."

Gory stood up and smoothed her skirt, "You'll only need one."

My brows raised, but I followed her with my eyes out of curiosity. She went to Romulus's window and looked to the right. I rose, stepping up beside her and following her gaze. My heart caught. The house next door had a tiny white camera aimed down at their driveway, high enough to catch foot traffic on the other side of the fence. "Are there more?" I whispered.

"Where there's one, there are many, grasshopper," she replied. She glanced to her mate, but he shut the door and said very quietly, "No. You are not breaking and entering again, I don't care if you don't show up on film or not. What if they're digital?"

"Then it's a good thing I married young," she replied. He stared at her with half-angry incredulousness before he surrendered, "If our kids turn out like you, I don't know what I'll do."

"Love them as much as I think you will," she replied. She produced her phone and began tapping. He sighed, pulling his from his pants pocket and doing the same, and they bumped their tops together. "If I get caught, I'm selling you out."

She blew him a kiss, "You won't get caught."  
He didn't settle for that. He crossed the room and stole a kiss from her before propping open the window. I stood back, watching in a mixture of confusion and partial amusement as he rocked back on his feet and took a running start. I swore he was going to crash into the wall, but at the last second changed. What had been a person evaporated and condensed in a flurry of what could only be described as mist. He became a bat and soared out of the window, wings fully extended in a glide toward the other house. Gory perched on my boyfriend's bed and stretched out slightly, a small smile on her lips. The heels of her shoes glided back until they nudged my bag, drawing her attention to it. Like a curious kitten, she pulled it out and examined it, her eyes flicking to me before seeming to fully judge that it was mine. "How long are you staying for?"

"However long he needs me," I replied. "He needs to be with his family right now. Pack and I are family too."

"You're not his family, you're his woman," she said, setting the bag on the floor and nudging it back under his bed. "I bet you cooked and cleaned for him too."

"I cleaned and did laundry," I replied.

She regarded me as if it made no difference. "Take it from someone who knows grief, right now you may think he needs you, but he's going to need you after he carries out his revenge a lot more. He will have avenged his brother and he won't seem to think he has anything left. That's where you come in. You have to be gentle with boys, they're incredibly fragile creatures. Their egos crack at the slightest nudge." I had forgotten that she was more wise than me. I sunk into the chair and watched as she surveyed the room. "Tonight, he's not going to be in the mood for anything. Bring him food, make him eat, and turn on something funny. He's going to need a lot of comedy for a few weeks, and you're going to be sick to death of everything that involves people getting hit in the groin when it's over. Just give him what he asks for, and take it a little step more. If he wants a drink, get him a drink and a sandwich. If he wants to sleep, let him sleep and clean up after him. Take the car out for a wash and a wax so he doesn't have to do it. You get the point, just make him feel like you can take care of him too. Eventually he'll get so sick of it that he'll have to get back on his feet or go insane with you doing everything."

I didn't know how to respond. I was pushing the limits of my energy with just him, I didn't know if I could handle tending to him and his family and trying not to nudge his ego. I thought I heard the beep of a walkie-talkie, but Gory simply picked up her phone and listened. "Ground control to Major Tom, when do you need footage of?"

"Your rhyme scheme is horrible," she replied, "Eight thirty to ten."

I rose a brow. She shrugged in that ever-so-knowing way that made me think she read my mind through my face. "It's a David Bowie reference, you're probably too young to understand."

"How did you learn how to break into houses?" I asked, "Don't you need to be invited in?"

She smiled slightly, "We do, but we can be invited in by people who aren't necessarily the owners. Familiars can invite us in too. Hungry dogs, lazy cats, even the occasional bird. With that kind of security, though, I'd bet it's a dog. Dogs like Bram."

"Is that why you got one?" I asked her.

She smiled lightly. Even though she'd met Remus, she didn't seem to be affected as we were by his murder. Her eyes were understanding, very unrestrained in her natural emotion. She must've seen a lot of death to grow so used to it.

"Hey, Ground Control," she said into her phone, "How's it coming?"

"Got the footage, fixing up Fido a breakfast of kings before I come back."

She laughed. Breaking into peoples' houses to feed their pets, understanding death and living out on the fringes of the world in a house made from more money than we'd ever see in our lives; I could see how vampires fascinated people. The closer I got to them, the more they became a mystery.

"Now," she said as she rose, lowering her tone to let Romulus sleep, "Let's go find out who killed Roger Rabbit."

It was a pun made far too soon, but she didn't seem to notice.


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 16_

Because we weren't exactly novices, we brought the hour and a half of footage from every camera across the outer property to evaluate. We took up residence in Abbey's house while her parents were across the street. Bram took the front camera, Abbey took the back facing the Moon property, and I took the back facing away from the Moon property. We saved the last disc for whoever finished first, and it seemed like I was in the lead. While I was sure Abbey was going to watch every second, I watched mine in fast-forward, pausing to play only the fifteen minute window between the abduction and the murder to find absolutely nothing. I skimmed the forty-five minutes after that, then it was on to disc two.

Bram joined me while I breezed over a lovely time-lapse video of the sun set and some kids playing on their bicycles up and down the driveway next door. "Well, can't say they're not useful," he commented, massaging my shoulders. I smiled, "Yeah, for watching sunsets. Jesus, this guy must've been paranoid. Big dog, lots of cameras..."

"Human," we both said in unison before laughing. After that tape was finished, I turned to him, "Anything?"

He shook his head. I yawned, slipping past him to get up and move. It had only been twenty minutes or so, but I was stiff and tired from being cramped in the car on the way out here and packed in a house of werewolves like the inside of a package of Swedish Fish. We headed into Abbey's room, and she was still watching the tape intently. It was going, as I thought, in minute-by-minute format as if she were watching a movie.

"Please," Bram muttered. I perched on the edge of her bed, nudging her elbow out of the way to make room for myself. He took the remote and fast-forwarded through another tape of nothing. She let her head fall onto the pillow she had propped her chin up on and I heard the intake of breath preparing for a sob. I rubbed the back of her shoulder lightly, "It's alright. We'll get leads, you know. Just give it time."

Bram rose from the footboard of her bed. He put down her remote and tapped her on top of her head, raising her eyes. I wasn't surprised to see that she'd begun crying, but it was heartbreaking nonetheless. "When did you last eat?" he asked her gently. The softness of his words seemed to surprise her, but not by a horrible lot. She shrugged, "Last night?" I knew it seemed hard to believe that everything hadn't even occurred twenty four hours ago, it did for me too.

Bram rose slowly, glancing to me. "How about I run out and get you girls something to eat?"

She rose, no doubt intent on going back to Romulus's place. He shook his head, gently guiding her to sit back, "Abbey, I know you want to help, but it's not going to do anyone any good if you run yourself ragged the first day."

She sunk back as if she really had no other choice. I remembered her bag in the Moon house and glanced to them both, patting her leg before following him out. We both knew the toll was equal on them. People as close as the two of them were didn't just suffer one or the other, it was a shared pain. He paused by the door and looked around the living room rather curiously. Mail was strewn across the coffee table in a state of disorganization that came with having a husband and a teenager, lending to the thought that Abbey was probably the one in need of more help than her boyfriend at the moment. "I'll get her stuff," I murmured to him, "Then I'll come back and clean up for them. Pick up something that I can make them for dinner."

He traced my cheek gently, his eyes dark with concern, "You need to worry about yourself too."

I waved it off, "I'm a big girl, Bram. It's under control."

He kissed me softly and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. "I'll be back in twenty minutes."

I rolled my eyes, but kissed him anyway. He pulled the keys out of his jacket and murmured, "No mucking stables."

I laughed. "I really don't like anyone enough to clean up after a horse, not even you."

He pretended to be offended. We slipped out together, he to the car while I crossed the street and took the scenic route up through the back yard of the Moon house. The yard was brimming with kids who didn't bat an eye at my presence, and for a moment I was taken by surprise at that. Remembering that my scent was probably all over the property, my surprise subsided and I went inside. I slipped through relatively quiet hallways up to Romulus's room. Since we had left, he had shifted onto his stomach. I couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep, but when I pried the bag from under his bed, he lifted his head. I jumped and tried my best not to be angry with the sudden movement. "Do you just enjoy terrifying people with anxiety issues?"

"She went home?" he murmured.

"We got the tapes off the house next door," I replied, "It was a good idea. Rom, she's going to push herself to her limit for you. It's hot. She's tired. She's been crying all night and she hasn't eaten since you got home, she's been too busy taking care of you. Nobody wants you to blame yourself, but Abbey needs a minute to breathe too."

He got up with a sigh, "Yeah, me laying around isn't helping anybody."

I didn't need to ask to know he was going to trail the scent. He pulled on a pair of shoes and didn't even bother changing his already dirty clothes. He went into the bathroom, something that should've dismissed me, but I found myself waiting. I looked at the white-painted door of a child's bedroom and gently pushed open the door.

It was cleaner than the rest of the house, I'd give it that. Action figures large enough to be considered dolls sat on a shelf, dressed in real cloth clothes and made of solid plastic. I recognized a G. I. Joe and a Flash, a Batman, a Superman, even a Wolverine. There was a fake aquarium lamp on the dresser next to a sticker-covered CD player, and a little TV sat on a table with drawers and a large bin of smaller action figures underneath, lined with comic books and kids' books stacked on top of it. The carpet was deep blue and the race car bed sheets were strewn everywhere on the unmade bed. From the little shoes I saw peeking out under the bed, I guessed it was Remus's room.

The door suddenly slammed shut in my face and it took a supernatural amount of self-control to stop myself from turning on Romulus. He gripped the door handle so hard I thought he might dent it, "You're letting his scent out."

"All the better to track it with, my dear," I replied.

His eyes glowed furiously. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he hissed, "This is my family. This is my grief. Don't you have a fucking ounce of empathy, or is that just reserved for everybody who doesn't die?"

I did have the ability to distance myself from grief, it was called age. It was called everyone died sooner or later, and he was lucky enough to go when he still had faith in the world. I met the steely emerald gaze of the werewolf in front of me and said very quietly, "And I'm going to help you make sure his death doesn't go unavenged, whether it was one of mine that did it or not. Exceptions are made to everything, Romulus, even loyalty."

He stared at me for a very long time before whispering, "Yeah, tell that to my mom."

He acted like I hadn't dealt with my own pain. He headed out the way I'd come and charged through the throngs of kids that looked like they had been paused by a remote. I followed him to the edge of the property while he tried to find the scent of his younger brother.

"I've lost plenty, Romulus, I'm over three hundred years old. I've seen people die that I don't even know, I've seen people I love kill other people and I've done it myself. If I grieved every time someone died, I'd be insane."

He must've caught it, because he looked at me with a little more fury, "Then shut up and stop following me."

He took off in a full sprint. I didn't. I rolled my eyes and turned back, muttering "rude" under my breath. I headed back to Abbey's and left her bag up in her bedroom silently. Whether she slept or wept wasn't really my concern either. I straightened up for her and let Headmistress Bloodgood's horse and Abbey's mammoth out of the stable to run around in the corral. Five minutes with them and I was missing Sunny horribly.

Animals and children had the kind of innocence that we all wished we retained when we neared two decades of life. I didn't want to consider how many decades I'd passed through to be a blessing of any form. While the horse pranced around like a show pony, parading her thick, curly mane and swishy tail for me, the buzz-cut mammoth played in leftover mud in shadowed patches of the corral, where the dew from the night could linger.

I closed my eyes. The sun radiated down to my skin very gently, bringing forth a sort of wanderlust. Everything would be resolved soon, then I didn't have to owe my debts to anyone.

My eyes snapped open as I heard the engine of the hearse in the driveway, and I remembered the one effect that remained the same through the eras of my loss. Then and now held one common factor; a brutal Louisiana settler that I loved like family, and never expected indiscretion from for even a heartbeat; one thing that a perfect killer could count on.


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter 17_

As we drove up, Valentine and Daciana were lounging about on their porch swing. He held his tablet nestled in his arm, earphones connecting to it and while one foot was tucked up comfortably under his knee, the other laid limp over the side, generating a slight rocking. Daciana knit. For a moment, I considered that I could be wrong. She had never been anything but nice to me, and despite what I knew, she didn't seem capable of harming another being- let alone a kid. Maybe the first wave of murders was on her, but not Remus.

"Here comes the young couple," she sang teasingly as we stepped out of the car, "Gory, you look exhausted. Tell me the boy is letting you get enough rest."

I smiled as I walked up to her and embraced her. Bram pulled up the rocking chair for me and I sat in its base. He perched on the railing nearby. "Whether I rest or not doesn't matter at the moment," I replied. She quirked a brow curiously, anticipating much the same as Romulus and everyone else had seemed to. I tried not to seem displeased as I shook my head. "Latent seasonal anemia. They're blaming it on the weather and the stress the heat is putting on me."

Daciana shifted to rise and give me her seat, but I shook my head. I liked her rocking chair; it was comfortable. Padded nicely. She scowled and leaned over, pressing her dainty hand to my forehead and cheeks as if she were my mother. "Well you don't feel to warm. You need something to drink before this gets any more out of hand."

For some reason I hadn't doubted the presence of servants, but the appearance of one amused me all the same. Bram scoffed lightly. "They'll call you racist," he teased, when he noticed who she had in her employ. I smiled to accept the drink with hardly another word, but she simply shook her head. "They'll call me an opportunist." Her curls bounced triumphantly. "I take young men and women from low-income homes and bring them up to where they could be in the world. They learn the value of hard work and an education, and then they go."

"My applause to you," Bram murmured with approval.

"Anyway, unless you're badly off, I'm sure this wasn't a house call to discuss your health," Daciana replied. Her eyes flicked between us, waiting for one of us to speak. Finally, I did gently. "Did you kill that boy?"

Her eyes widened in a shock that I could tell was not completely genuine. She sighed and waved her hand, "No. No. I contributed only one to their rash of homicides, the rest were not me. I can adamantly and honestly deny that."

"Daci-" Valentine said, removing an ear bud.

"Oh go inside if I'm too loud!" she snapped, "Good lord, the woman who ends up with you will be insane in a month!"

He rolled his eyes and tapped his screen before leaning over to kiss her temple. He rose, nodding to us before disappearing inside. From what I glimpsed, the house looked almost exactly like the Sinclair plantation down South...

"Has anything else happened?" she said with a little less volume in her tone. "Something that would make you think of me?"

"The killings have been implied to frame wolves for their doing. That makes people look to vampires, and we know how adamant you were on enacting revenge against those we had disputes with." Bram's gentle tone implied nothing and gave nothing away. He was an eternal businessman, and for that I was grateful. She sighed, "He was one of theirs, then?" My husband nodded. I tried not to feel a measure of sympathy toward her from the rash judgement I had given, but I could only seem to retain her sympathies. She rolled up her yarn and muttered, "The poor family."

"He wasn't yet seven," Bram said, gently pushing the boundaries of her empathy. "And you know, I've heard many stories about the old country from Valentine. Witch hunts that destroyed vampires and how you both were forced to flee or be killed like the others..." I cautioned him with a look, but her face had gone blank. Her eyes were suddenly void of emotion, trapped in a horrible past she could never escape. "I can't imagine how someone like you could inflict the same pain on someone else."

I saw a flicker of something in her eyes that stirred my instinct. Remorse, perhaps. Maybe guilt. Regardless, it filled her expression for such a prolonged breath that I imagined her coming forward in a moment and pleading for her own forgiveness. Instead, the flicker ended, and the composed mask returned with less ground to keep itself whole than before. "Yes," she murmured as if she were on the verge of sleep, "I can't imagine how anyone could do such a thing."

"We just wanted to know if you had anyone you could ask around to. We would like to find this murderer with as little fuss as possible, you see. It gets easier on everyone that way."

My husband's voice seemed to go unnoticed for a very long time. At last, she budged and brought her sewing with her. Her eyes flicked back to us and she nodded as the words registered at last. "I'll pass it along. If you'll excuse me..."

When she had safely, soundly shut the door I turned to Bram and nearly began to lecture him on how he'd hurt her feelings and that she could prove a great help to us when he said, very simply, "She knows."

"I don't doubt that for a second, but you could've at least-"

"Gory," he cut me off, his tone still gentle and businesslike, "She _knows._"

I blinked and glanced back toward the door. Valentine was too lazy to execute a plan like this. Daciana seemed too fragile, but I had seen what I had known. I had watched this woman beat to death the servants who dared disobey her. I watched her take in slaves and trade, rip apart families without a single speck of remorse and yet when we implied a boy young enough to be her own son was killed...  
"She couldn't," I murmured in disbelief.

"She wasn't working alone." I questioned him with my eyes, but he betrayed no hint that it was Valentine. I downed the glass of blood and set it gently on their outdoor table. Bram put the rocking chair back in place and we headed off the plantation porch. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see the lady of the house watching me from some far window, but it seemed as if she were not that offended by our accusations to watch us go. "Get in," Bram pressed, "We've got an idiot to stop from getting killed."

...

We had no sooner entered the driveway of one of the only tough-guy bars within Salem's limits when a familiar gray-clad figure was thrown out the front window and landed in a heap in the dirt and shattered glass. Bram released his belt and glanced to me, "Stay here."

He got out of the car before he could hear me deny to ever doing such a thing. I paused as I opened the door, though. He walked up to Romulus surely and extended his hand, pulling the werewolf to his feet before addressing the men who had put him in that predicament. "Four on one seems a little unfair, old sport. Why don't we even the numbers a bit?"

They rushed without questioning. I nearly threw open the door in sheer panic to join them, but Bram immediately went into brawling with the two werewolves that came at him. Another pair attacked Romulus, and the werewolf was not doing as well. He was already battered, his lip split by his own canine and his nose obviously broken. His face was splattered in blood that ran down his shirt and spattered with colorful bruises that I assumed his body was being forced to match. They drove their fists brutally into his belly, one after another until he coughed blood. I slid over the seat and revved the engine. I flicked on the brights and put the car in reverse, slowly backing up a few feet. While one's attention was distracted, I watched the other and the blood that streamed from my friend's mouth. There was one more coming, and he held a jagged piece of broken green wine bottle.

I slammed on the gas. The tires screamed and the engine roared like a lion. They dropped Romulus and thankfully the fool knew to lay flat. I tore right over him, making sure he stayed between my tires as the front fender of the hearse slammed into the solid bodies of a pair of lycanthropes. I slammed on the breaks, jolting the car into immobilization, watching as they struck their friend's body with their own and toppled back into the wall. The two fighting my husband paused in awe, long enough for them to be taken down.

I opened the door and leaned on the railing, focusing their blazing eyes and met with open shock. Sure, they'd counted on boys coming after their friends, but obviously they'd never met a girl quite like me. I heard sirens and blew them a kiss. The back door unlatched and Romulus slid inside, leaving me to my husband's gentle prompting. I slid back into the soft leather seat and allowed him to take his proper place at the wheel. He peeled away like the devil himself were after us, beating the police's entrance to the lot by a window of half a minute or less.

"That was badass," Bram breathed, a hint of an exhilarated laugh in his tone.

"Don't ever speak of how you saved my ass again," Romulus pressed. I could tell he was in serious pain, but my husband laughed anyway. It was what every Star Wars loving, red-blooded male dreamed of; the momentary opportunity to become a superhero for a moment had dawned on him and I had the horrible feeling that it would stick around for some time.

"Hey Moon," Bram said after his glee had begun to subside and we had gotten on the proper path to the hospital.

"What?" Romulus rasped.

"Remember when I saved your ass?"

His laughter was met with a glare that promised violence. I turned to try to bring him a measure of comfort, but he slumped back into the seat, clutching his stomach, and growled, "Remind me to kill you when I feel better."


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter 18_

I laid in a dizzy stupor in the back seat. The empty space in the hearse behind me looked comfortable, and I thought I might bleed on their seats, but I guess I didn't. Eventually, I heard the click of a seatbelt and Gory climbed over the console into the back seat. She touched my wet side and I grit my teeth.

"Bram, pick up the speed," she said softly. The touch should've been light, but it felt like she was pressing on it. I grasped at her hand, digging my claws into her arm. Her eyes widened, but despite the opening of her skin, she touched my side and gently placed her fingers into the wound. I nearly screamed. The pressure alleviated, but the blood was flowing more freely. I turned away from the seat, completely surprised when she kept her hand pressed to my side. I released her arm and stared down at the thin red lines my claws had broken on her skin. Her deep red eyes flicked up to mine and she smiled, warm and slight, "Shh. It's alright."

"Sorry," I muttered anyway. It sounded like a rumble mixed with a gurgle. The hearse felt like it jackknifed and I shot up, hissing sharply in agony, "Shit!"

The minute the car stopped, I threw open the door and nearly fell out. I nearly fell off her legs and threw up. My stomach heaved so hard dark dots formed before my eyes. There was a sharp, disgusting splat beneath me. I think it was dark red. My vision kept exploding in fireworks, and my sides were burning. The gentle touch of small hands, I assumed it was Gory, went to my temples.

"Romulus," I was right. Probably the first time all night. "Romulus, you need to breathe."

I puked instead. My lungs felt raw. My throat felt even worse, and the more I tried to breathe deeply, the more I seemed to heave. There was a firm grip on my shoulder, but the little touch batted it away. "He needs a doctor, he shouldn't move."

"Doctors are going to need him in there."

My vision cleared up for a minute, but it started narrowing. I blinked furiously and gripped the pale arm that was slipping out of my blurry vision. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in the way she took my hand and put her cold fingers to my face, "The blood is in his lungs, just get him a doctor!"

That made a lot of sense. My chest rattled a little bit when I breathed. I felt her lowering beside me, tracing my hair back, but I batted her hand away to heave again. She made a little, disgusted sound. I wished I could've laughed.

"Still...squeamish, princess?" I rasped.

"I'm trying to be nice, you little shit," she replied. "If you throw up on me, I'm going to finish you off."

I laughed. She looked sick, I could make that out from blurry-eyed blinking. I must've had serious blood on my face or something to make her look that sick. Using her for a support, I pushed myself to my feet and staggered a few feet. I pushed off of her, charged another foot or two and collapsed into a garbage can. I felt like my stomach was trying to force its way out of my mouth, but maybe it was my lungs. For a second, I panicked. I clutched the garbage can and couldn't breathe. My muscles clenched and twitched, sending strange sensations through my body. The sounds behind me were very far away, and I figured I was dying.

Something sharp struck me in the back and I coughed something solid up. I sucked in a deep breath and sunk back on the ground, coughing and breathing without blood. Gory's arms were lightly smeared in blood, and she looked into the garbage can before turning away as if she would be sick herself.

I started laughing.

Her hand was clamped so tightly over her mouth that I knew felt like she'd cry or heave or both, and suddenly she turned around and snapped at me, "You coughed up a piece of bone! Why the fuck are you laughing?!"

There were tears running out of my eyes. They fell into my ears, and it felt so gross, but I felt disgusting enough not to care. The sticky warmth on my skin was getting cold and drying out. It was easier to breathe, and my vision cleared up to stare at the vampire that kept me company. I didn't have the effort to push myself up, but she was still there.

"Sorry," I finally said quietly. It was hard to talk. My throat burned like Satan's ass after a Taco Bell buffet.

She took a deep breath and turned to me, "It's alright. You're alive."

I tried to push myself up, but her husband came back with a team of paramedics. I offered my hand. He paused. "Come on, a little dignity here." He gave, taking my hand and tugging me to my feet. Despite the wincing looks of the staff, I climbed willingly onto the stretcher and let him go to her. Before they rushed me inside, I propped up a little and called over to them, "Hey. Having a boy or a girl?"

She glanced back to me, her hand lingering close to her mouth. "I'm not pregnant," she said gently, "I'm anemic."

"Congratulations, I don't think you'd like kids."

She gave me a look. That was probably why she liked me, I might've insulted her from time to time and teased her about everything, but she probably didn't have any friends willing to do it or siblings...living ones, anyway. They forced me to go, leaving the angelic looking pair at the side of the entryway. I only vaguely noticed him checking the cuts on her arms.

...

That hollow sound when I was breathing made me think I'd fallen asleep with earbuds in. I guess I was just extra-aware at being asleep. The sound returned pretty gradually while the sedation wore off, the sound of Gunsmoke on the crappy hospital TV masked by the sound of a heartbeat right beside me. The sensation of cold seeped into my skin and settled in my bones, making them feel stiff and raw. I felt like I'd been frozen over, but that was just the side effect of falling asleep next to Abbey in an air-conditioned room with a shitty blanket. The sensations slowly continued to manifest, taking their sweet ass time registering in my groggy mind. Her breaths were warmer, puffing against my temple. She was spooning me, and for a minute I thought we were in bed. There was a third heartbeat though- her dad. Shit. For a minute, I wondered if he caught me in bed with her and beat me up. The next sensations I experienced were pain. Mind-blowing, side-splitting pain. I felt like I'd been clocked with a semi by Bruce Banner himself. It was everywhere. Shit. I didn't want to move. I shied closer into Abbey because the cold made me numb. She knew I was awake then, and her other hand rested on the opposite side of my head. It was a shock that made me gasp, but I was right against her chest. A mix of surprise and sweet relief coursed through my body and down directly to my groin. Triple shit. I felt loaded, and having my face in my girlfriend's boobs was only sending the blood down where I didn't want it, which sent it through some places that started hurting at the increase of blood pretty quickly. I didn't even get very turned on, not with the pain I was in.

"Fuck," I muttered into her breasts. I had to admit, from my view, they were fucking glorious. She had on her low-cut pajama top that gave me a nice view of my own personal Himalayas. Frost-pale and soft and god I wanted to get going with her but everything on earth was working against me, mostly a ripping pain in my side. I forced myself to pull away and lean in toward it, which only made it hurt more. I tried shifting out of that, but it felt like it ripped, and there was a lot of hot and wet and I cursed even more forcefully, "Fuck!"

Her hand clamped down on my side. My blood froze on the spot. It got so cold it hurt, but the blood stopped flowing.

"That is why they sedate him," her father said without looking away from the TV. Miss Kitty and Doc were having a beer at the Longbranch; suddenly, I could've killed a guy to bring me a beer. I needed a little liquid anesthetic.

My girlfriend's fingers ran over my side, and with the pain gone, the blood went where it was supposed to when she cuddled in against me. I really hoped her father didn't suspect anything. I was kind of stuck in place with Abbey and a hard place- or really just another big guy willing to kill me.

"Someone's happy to see me," she whispered in my ear. The silky, Russian-laced pure desire of her voice made me wince.

"That's not fair," I muttered.

She laughed, raising her hand to brush my hair out of my face. "You were sedated heavily, baby. Is not good for you to move right now."

I begged with my eyes. You can do all the moving, babe, I'll behave. She shook her head with that devious little smirk on her face. She rubbed my neck until I relaxed pretty much everything but the one thing I couldn't seem to get rid of. My head rested on top of hers, and I zoned out to Matt Dillon battling some stage coach thief or something. I didn't really get the point of it, but it was TV. I snaked my arm around her back and kissed the top of her head. I felt her smile on my shoulder, shifting her face just a little closer.

"That was so stupid," she whispered to me. "You could have gotten killed, then what would I do?"

Things came back in fragments. Gory's hand stopping the bleeding, puking blood in the parking lot. Getting dosed like an elephant and waking up here...getting almost run over. Ribs cracking, which earned me a shitload of sudden and agonizing sympathy pain. Getting tossed out a window. Getting beaten up on a bar...going after the guys who killed my little brother.

I felt sick.

I came out of the haze of anesthetic pretty suddenly, and the world spun for a second, but the lukewarm slushiness in my brain evaporated, and so did my little problem. I tried to sit up, little bit by little bit, until Abbey sat up. She took one look at my face and leaned over for the garbage can. I grasped her hand. "Did it really happen?" It could've been some anesthetic dream, couldn't it? Remus could bust in the door and jump on me, send me into waves of pain that I'd gladly take. Anything to have my little brother in my arms. She shook her head and it made me even sicker. There were tears in my eyes, warm like anesthesia. My chest folded in with the kind of pain they didn't have medication for. She looked at her father desperately, but the older man just shook his head. "Get him water."

She looked around and then rose, very gently touching my hand as if it could help. The minute she left the room, I fell apart. The cold faded away fast, and I was in pain. It was shitty, horrible pain that just washed over me like I'd fallen in a pool drunk and didn't remember how to swim. I was drowning in it. I turned over and curled up and let my stitches bust. I was warm and wet and sticky and it hurt, and they were probably going to strap me down. But the other hospital chair scraped across the floor, and a heavy hand rested on my side. The cold returned, stopping the blood fast. It stopped the pain, and it was harsher than Abbey's. It made me shake. Another cold, heavy hand patted the top of my head, joined by the quiet words of her father's deeply rumbling voice. "I remember this pain," he murmured. "I grieved for a brother once. You just trust my daughter. We make things right. Yeti do not let people in tribe be killed without shedding blood of enemy."

He didn't know how it helped. The shaking stayed, but only from the cold. The part of me that was cold from losing Ray seemed a little less desolate, though. It'd be cold for a long time, but it wasn't impossible to fix. I tried to stretch out, only to be aided and petted like a dog. It was condescending, but in the most fatherly way I figured I would ever experience from the guy who hated me so much. "You make her happiest I ever see her," he said, "I let her make you for change. Just do not push me."

He moved back, and I laid there until Abbey came back. My eyes were closed, and the nurse seemed fit to try to up my medication. Before she did, I slid the needle from my arm and let the trickle of blood run down my skin while it healed. There was a steady drip of anesthetic onto the sheet beside me while I felt her repair every stitch. Every yank and pull and force to close, the burn of cauterization, I felt it all. I sunk my claws into the shoddy mattress and thought that Abbey's father had probably never felt anesthetic for a battle wound besides some old man's liquor. My breathing came shockingly deep and calm. I felt more ready for battle in the state I was in than I had leaving before.

It didn't take long after the nurse left for Abbey to find my dripping needle on the bed. She gently stopped the flow and kissed my head with a soft sigh, "You are so stubborn."

I didn't nod. I didn't move. She sat beside me and slid her arms under my head, pressing my face gently to her soft, plush chest. Her father was still watching westerns, and I let myself slip my hand up to her waist and kiss the thudding beat beneath my lips.

"You are stupid," she murmured, "but very brave and stupid."

I closed my eyes against her frosty skin and sighed. Not even that made me feel like less of a warrior. I'd take my rest and get back on my feet, and then I could handle going back. I could handle facing the men who killed Ray- and if they didn't, I'd find out who did, and run them down in the street.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19_

I sighed.  
There really wasn't much else we could do. I watched him pull the trunk out of the back of the closet and held my throbbing waist as I stood. I knelt beside him, resting my free hand on his shoulder, "This isn't a good idea."

Bram glanced at me with a raised brow. "What do you intend for me to do, Gory? Sit back and let someone else be killed."

"I'm going with you," I insisted gently. There was a time and place for chivalry, and it wasn't now. Not against all of these people. He slipped the latch free and pressed a warm kiss to my temple, "No, you are going to stay here with Sunny and hold down the fort. I am going to equip you so nothing else can happen to you-"

"And if it does?" I whispered. It was a dirty trick, using his emotions this way. He glanced at me and sighed, his hands resting on the lid of our unpacked arsenal before they lifted. He tucked my hair behind my ear and pressed our foreheads close together. "You're not well enough to go with me. Don't even lie to me and say that you feel up to it. You're in pain."

"I can do it," I whispered. "Whether I'm in pain or not shouldn't matter, you need me to at least come with you. If something happens to you-"

"Nothing will," he said gently. His thumb brushed my cheek, but it didn't soothe me. I pressed his hand to my face and forced my volume to overpower his, "Bram, I don't have anyone else. I won't be able to depend on Valentine."

He withdrew and looked away. I slipped my fingers gently through his, pressing his knuckles to my lips. I clasped his hand between both of mine, pleading with him through my touch. My fingers caressed his palm in a silent promise to trade whatever he wanted in return for this. He sighed, pushing up the lid and removing his hand from my grasp to withdraw a pair of Winchester revolvers and silver bullets. I swallowed my breath as he loaded them and withdrew a canister of silver-tipped arrowlets for a crossbow. He looked at me, "I don't want you in danger, but apparently there is no other way."

"I'm in danger whether you bring me or leave me," I reminded him. "This way we just have a smaller chance of being killed."

He scoffed and pulled off his jacket to holster the guns out of sight. I loaded the crossbow and took one of the hunting knives out of the interior. I slipped the holster in my boot, leaving a bit of the sheath free for grabbing. I handed him his ammunition and forced myself to stand. My muscles were aching with a persistent lack of blood, but I knew even if I fed before we left, I would be sore by the time we returned. He caught my arm gently, guiding me a bit closer. "If you feel badly, even for a second, I want you to go back to the car. You can do me a great deal of good from there too."

I nodded.

As he stashed the rest of our weapons, I whistled for Sunny. Our puppy was rapidly doubling in size as large animals had the tendency to do in their infancy, and despite his youth, he came when I called. His long tail thumped against the wall as I hooked him to his leash. He sniffed the edge of the crossbow and whined, looking at me with understanding eyes. I scratched his ears, "You're going to sit in the back seat while Mommy and Daddy take care of some business. We're going to need you to be a big boy my love. If you don't like the people, we're going to need you to bark and be extra tough. No little boy whining. You make them think you will fight, because then they won't hurt you." From what I'd gathered, they were going after the people who wouldn't have the time or the strength to fight back, something I could count on Sunny having both of. His tail lowered slightly, but kept swishing. He licked my face, remaining by my side even as I stood and led him to the hearse.

I stowed him and my crossbow when I heard the footsteps up the drive. Sunny began wagging his tail and panting, relieving my tension momentarily. I tied his leash to the back of my head rest and left him there, turning to face the heavily beaten werewolf walking up my path.

"I thought they'd at least keep you overnight," I called out.

"They didn't." There was a grim firmness to his voice. My eyes widened. I went out to meet him halfway; how little he healed was shocking. There were bandaged cuts on his face and he seemed to favor the side opposite the one I'd seen so damaged. I reached out, but he shied away from allowing me to touch him. I knew he was in pain; I let my hand fall in understanding.

"There's been another killing," I murmured.

He met my eyes, "I want to know what you know."

There shouldn't have been secrets between us, but the look in his eyes, as sure as he was, he wasn't ready to know that he had been beaten by the men who had killed his younger brother. He hadn't connected the dots as we had. Daciana may not have had a hand in the killings herself, but I knew this was part of her plan. Suddenly, he grabbed my arms and growled, directly in my face, "So help me god, if you have anything to do with this-"

"I wouldn't be helping you if I did," I replied. The hard emerald of his eyes were fixed on mine. I gave him my honesty. "You're not ready for this." He turned his head from me with an expression of disgust and disbelief. His hold loosened, but I didn't move to release him. If he'd walked all the way out here, there was a chance he'd collapse. "Romulus, listen to me. In the state you're in-"

"And you are?!" he snapped. My instinct was to hit him, to get his brawn away from me. For sake of our truce, I didn't. My teeth grit. His hands tightened on my arms, his eyes pleading and fierce at the same time, demanding an answer I refused to disclose. "I know you vampires protect each other, and I don't give a fuck if it's one of you're own. I just want to know who I have to kill."

"Killing will not bring you peace," I whispered.

"Peace was never an option, _Professor_," he snapped and shoved me away. I lost my footing stumbling back and found myself on my backside on the driveway with scuffed palms. His fists balled and he lashed out, his voice considerably more terrifying than the sight of him injured and angry. A part of me wanted to shy away from the obvious display of power; healed or unhealed, he was still incredibly strong. "Are you hiding them or are you them?! Because it's not fucking fair that you would set us back this much, send us on a path we don't even need to be on, if you're not trying to throw us off your trail!"

I rose, "And why would I hurt that little boy?"

"I don't know," he snapped. "Maybe because he reminds you of what you can't have? How many kids have you killed trying to make one for yourself, huh? How many of them were like him?!"

"I'm trying to help you!" I shouted over him. "I held that little boy, I watched him play with Sunny, and you think I would've let anything happen to him?! I have morals when I kill, I don't kill kids!"

"Then what about that arrogant prick you're married to?!"

I hit him with more force than a reflex. His head snapped around so hard I saw his eyes tear. I knew the pain he must've been in, the pain I was in, and I knew that fighting would get us nowhere but set us back from actually going after Daciana. "You're no use to me," I growled. "Whether you trust me or not, someone was killed on my land. Someone wants to make my Shade look like murderers, whether it's your pack or not. We're both accused here-"

"Like fucking right," he growled.

"Do you need me to smack some sense into you?!" I shouted at him. "This isn't a game, Romulus, people are dying!"

He looked at me seriously. It was a very human look compared to his animalistic reactions thus far. "I saw three people being brought in, killed exactly the same way as before. One of them was one of those wolves. So tell me again...who's the only one left that could be killing people?"

That cold, cunning bitch. To pamper me and treat me well and lie to my face when I nearly begged her for the truth. After everything I had done for her, she had pinned the killings on us. Romulus stared at me, waiting for a response. I lifted my gaze, "Did you drive?"

He scoffed.

"I asked for an answer, not sass."

"Yes sir," he replied. I could've smacked the accusation out of his eyes, whether it was grief-based or not. I gestured to the drive, "Then get your pack and meet me on the private drive between Fortieth and West Main."

He rose a brow. I went for the car, wiping the dirt from my palms on my pants. "Why?" he called out.

I turned back to him once I'd reached the driver's side of the hearse. "I'm going to show you your killer." I slid inside without another word. Bram still hadn't met up with us, so I put my keys in the ignition and leaned on the horn. I waited, watching Romulus limp down the driveway in the mirror. When Bram hadn't come after a longer second summoning, a strangely cold feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I slid out of the hearse as silently as possible, but Romulus turned back to me anyway. I drew my crossbow from the back seat, leaving the door open because I knew it would make a sound to close it again. How hadn't I heard an approach? Had there even been any displacement in the easy prey, or did they know they weren't the intended target? I ran up the steps into the house, raising my weapon to strike any hidden threat when I saw him. I let out a breath of relief and crossed the living room, "What the hell are you doing? You scared me half to death."

He didn't move from the back window, his arms crossed across his chest, but I heard him very clearly. "Then don't look."

I went to the window and glanced out only for a moment, but a glance was all I needed. The wolves I had suspected were not the wolves in the yard, and while they feasted on something small, I didn't see a tuft of fur in sight. My eyes flicked to my husband in absolute horror. He only nodded in confirmation. She might as well have painted in blood that it could've been a fate for us. She thought her intimidation tactics were working. My thoughts were strong, but my knees were weak. I went back out to the yard and slid into the open driver's seat. Sunny whined, his tail thumping the inside of the car, and I glanced back to see Romulus had opened up the other door and leaned over the back of the seat to scratch his ears. He met my eyes only for a moment, but it was enough to trigger the emotions that forced me to curl up and sob in disbelief.

I met Daciana in the inn of a tiny vampire community centuries ago, where she bragged that she had run with the Huns in her youth. She had been a young mistress to Attila and Genghis Khan, and she had regaled everyone in the room with tales of horrible mind tricks and forcing prisoners to commit suicide in front of their enemies or be killed with infinitely more torment. I had heard more than enough that day to know that these very same tricks were what we were facing.

Very gently, I felt Romulus's hand between my shoulder blades. I turned to him and folded my body into his. No matter how broken he was, he pulled his door shut and held me tightly. The cooling, evening air tickled my skin from my own side, but he attempted to keep me warm. He didn't know what I was trembling from, though as Bram locked up and left the house, I got the idea he knew.

My husband climbed into the car without a word, flicked on the heater and began driving us toward Romulus's car.

"What was it this time?" the young wolf said over my head. I was turning off my emotions, forcing myself not to come to terms with what I'd seen. I forced myself to think that nothing had happened for the few solid minutes of silence before Bram paused the car next to the cab of Romulus's. Before he left, though, I heard the quiet and equally horrified words that broke my resolve entirely. "A baby."


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter 20_

I woke up even more tired than I'd been when I went to bed. I had dinner and I laid around the house, and I felt sick to my very center over Romulus.  
What had happened to Remus had not been his fault or any of his cause, and yet as soon as he had the chance, he had gotten up and disappeared without a trace. My father had told me many times that even if I had been with him, I wouldn't have been able to stop him from going. He had needed to heal himself as much as he needed to heal physically. We both knew it meant revenge. We both knew it could get him killed in the state he was in.

I wandered around the yard while the sun took it's time setting as it did for the majority of summer. I didn't know why, but I wanted it to come up earlier. I loved the evenings of light at seven and eight PM, but it felt as if I wanted a break in the heat. I wanted the chance to spare the atmosphere the duty of clouds. I wished it could be cold and clear, with nothing but endless, glacial blue sky and the warmth of the pale sun on frigid air. If I had to be honest with myself, I wanted to go home. I wanted to forget that I had ever come here and fallen into this beautiful joy that had ended in tragedy. No matter how much I told myself that I couldn't have done anything, it didn't change the thought that kept sweeping my mind, that if we'd stayed home, Remus could've been with us. He could be alive.

The sun cast long shadows over the corral and Nightmare went in with my mother to be brushed around six. As the sun dipped onto the other side of the house, I watched it go up in the trees. I watched the flowers slowly close and the golden hues on the leaves subside until I was the only one out among the evening. Even Shiver had gone inside when Mama went to make dinner.

The wood of the fence felt rough and familiar under my knees and I let my feet dangle from it. It barely supported my backside, but I didn't care. I'd rather fall than forget the sensation. I'd rather lose myself than lose what I clutched. Perfect summer nights weren't easily defined. Sometimes the rain came like a silent cry on a passing cloud and left the ground more damp than usual in the morning, and people hardly noticed. Sometimes the moon was visible through the gauzy gray, and I could lay out and see the stars. Tonight was a night with the night streaked in gray. I could see the pinpricks of light through them every so often, far off in the inky blue. Before long, fireflies started to emerge. Like little lights, they danced around in the air without rhyme or reason. I imagined one of those being Remus. I imagined one of them in Remus's hands. The funeral must be soon, any day now.

The suddenness of the thought crushed my chest. My feet dipped off to the ground and I brushed my toes from the dusty earth of the corral into the grass. It was supposed to feel purifying, the cold blades against my skin, but I felt them freeze and become rigid. Everything I touched turned to frost. Everything I touched was dying.  
I pulled my crystal off my neck and tucked it in the front pocket of my pants. I laid down in the grass and felt the tickle of bugs as they ran for cover. I could've cried, but I had cried too much to know if I had any tears left. A light weight was in my chest, some anxiety mixed with some grief. I hated myself. I was ruining my own life by hating myself. I was trying to make it stop.

Headlights painted the barn in white and didn't cut as I heard a door open. Instead, the heavy-light, heavy-light shift of weight that could only be described as footsteps approached. I sat up in the dew, watching my boyfriend's tousled figure appear like a shadow in the glow of the lights.

"Are you coming?!" he shouted.

"Where?" I pushed myself to my feet anyway.

"Bram and Gory know. We have to tail them." His words didn't register for a moment. Knew? Knew what? Who Remus's killer was? As I pieced the words together in my mind, he looked more and more impatient. I glanced to the lit window of the kitchen and shook my head. Shoes be damned, we didn't have time to waste on shoes. I ran to the truck. Surprisingly, he kept up and hopped inside as soon as I had. In one swift move, he gunned the truck and peeled backward out onto the street before slamming on the gas and taking a sharp turn around to the more forest-trimmed streets. I didn't bother looking at his speedometer, but I did clutch the seats. Every turn was preparing to jackknife his car and my heart was pounding for reasons beyond my control. I didn't want to be so cold as to be in the mild joy of anticipation, but I was. I wanted to know who had crossed us, and I wanted them to see what they were facing before I let Romulus do what Romulus intended to do.

The pack operated like a gang. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. The law had to look the other way in our affairs. We were like the mafia, we had people everywhere. If we were suspects, we would never be called in. If people knew we had done wrong, it didn't become news. It was our de facto, our silent code. For the first time, I realized how much a part of the silent code I was.  
He cut the lights as we headed down a road I had never seen before. My eyes flicked to him, but he didn't move. He slammed on the breaks until the car was crawling, and then he let them go. We edged along in complete darkness until the both of us could make out another car ahead. For a minute, my breath caught, but then we saw that we were already half-covered by a weeping willow tree. Romulus parked askew to be completely concealed by the leaves, and I made out the sight of a dog's quickly wiggling tail through the heavily tinted windows of the hearse beside us. Tiny curtains were unfastened and the occupants of the hearse emerged one at a time.

I crawled out of my seat and ran around the front of the truck. Romulus slid free, appearing just as strong as he had before he was so badly broken. Bram looked at both of us with such grimness that I worried we were too late for something much worse. Silently, Gory slid out of the passenger seat and shut the door behind her. He clicked their keys and locked the hearse, and crossbow in hand, she wandered up to us. She linked her arm through his and smiled to us gently. Her expression was the complete opposite of her husband's; it made me wonder how similar or different Romulus and I looked at the moment ourselves.

"Stay close," Bram said, and that was all he said. He withdrew to kiss Gory very warmly on the lips and part from her as if they'd done this before. I felt like we were going in, a part of our own little police show.

We wandered closer, the vampires impeccably silent ahead of us, and Romulus tensed when he saw the shimmer of chrome under porch light. The vampires paused. There were five bikes parked closely together off to one side of the porch. Gory glanced to Bram and he to Romulus, his voice low, "Look familiar?"

My boyfriend's eyes were livid. They seemed to glow with the brutality of an angry alpha. I recognized that look and resisted the instinct to back up. He was halfway between animal and man, fully prepared for the hunt before him. He shifted a bit lower and charged ahead. Gory stepped forward to hiss his name, to try to get him to stop, but he went in blazing before any of us could stop him.

I heard the roar from where we stood, and we broke into a sprint after him. The jagged pieces of gravel cut my feet, but were soon replaced by smooth, painted wooden stairs. I ran up them quickly and burst into the hall of lights.

If I had any longer than a minute to marvel, I would've taken it gladly. Gory and Bram's house was impressive, but this place took my breath away. There was a gigantic crystal chandelier, paisley print carpet edged in burgundy, fine leather furnature and a roaring fire in the fireplace that was adorned with a centuries old painting of Valentine and a woman, the same woman I saw at the crest of the stairs. I understood in the time it took to see that she had an entire manor to hide in that she had been waiting for this. She knew we were coming.

A shot rang out beside my ear and I screamed. I ducked away, clutching my ears. My eyes snapped up in time to see a brawny biker hit the floor. Bram stepped up beside me and took over, two guns in hand. One aimed at the girl on the stairs, the other focused on the men charging in to fight my boyfriend.

Instinct slammed into overdrive. I charged them back, slamming my shoulder into one's chest. An audible, resonating snap reached my ear as the firey swipe of claws slicing open skin bloomed over my upper back. Warmth seeped down from those cuts. I snapped my head upward, striking his chin in a head-butt. His mouth snapped shut and I smelled the familiar metallic of blood. I fished my crystal out of my pocket and allowed the raw sensation of ice encasing my hand to override my sense of touch. I slammed my fist forward, protected by the invisible seal. Then I transferred to the other hand and did the exact same with the one that came up behind him.

I paused to clasp my crystal behind my neck and dodge a swipe at the same time. The werewolf ahead of me was shot with a small arrow and stepped back to pull it free. Romulus released a howl of pain that caught my attention, and I diverted my attention from the remaining two to rush to his aid.  
One held him by the throat, his hands torn between keeping claws from impaling his jugular and claws from slicing open his stomach. With all of the power I could muster, I slammed into the one in front of him, freeing one hand. He clenched the other wolf's wrists and snapped them. A howl pierced the air and even in pain, the wolf's hands clenched and he struck out.

We were even numbered, but outgunned. Two vampires, one beaten-up alpha and a yeti was hardly match for a fivesome of body-building brutes. Still, the other hit me and I hit back. I threw my weight into him, coating my skin in ice as much as I could in the time I had.

The slicing of arrows through the air halted, and I paused to see why. The girl I had seen in the painting with Valentine, the girl at the top of the stairs, had come into the brawl. We were now outnumbered and outgunned, and my blood froze in my veins.

There was a stake through Gory's chest. It had gone all the way through. For a solid half-minute, there was silence. The wolves regrouped. Romulus looked up. Bram stopped shooting, his eyes widened and he threw himself at the vampire girl. I had never heard him roar with such ferocity before. He threw her away from his mate and caught her before she fell. They sunk to the floor together, blood bubbling over her lips while she choked for breath.

I snapped.

I saw red.

I felt the moonlight over me.

I heard every sound around me. Their breaths, their heartbeats, the shuffle of servants hiding away, the birds outside, the insects in the grass, her dog down the road, the cars even farther, I heard the fucking earth rotating and I heard the moon singing.

I felt the air. I felt the dust. I felt my skin prickle.

My hands hurt. I curled them into my palms and launched my tense body forward, and the loudest, most inhuman sound I had ever made burst out of my mouth. They didn't have the time to react; neither did I. As soon as I new I had let go, my claws were buried against her spine. I didn't know her, but I would kill her for hurting someone in my pack. My teeth found her pearl-white throat. Her skin seemed so breakable, and I split it. I bit down and I ripped it open. I ripped her open. I felt white-hot pain, deep cuts into my back, and I slammed my elbow backward. It connected with the nose of one of the wolves and he staggered back, clutching his face.

I could barely see through the red, but Romulus was in shock, and Bram only had eyes for his fallen mate.

I thought I snapped before, but everything engulfed me at once. I felt a tremor run down my spine and it turned my humanity off.


	21. Chapter 21

_Chapter 21_

I had never seen a more glorious and monstrous thing than Abbey transforming.  
She lost all sense of self. I saw the resolve crack. I saw her claws tense, her eyes changing ever so slightly. I knew that transformation well. The wolf in her had made an appearance after all this time.

I lurched to my feet and pushed myself toward Bram and Gory. Her breathing was coming in shallow gasps while he tried to calm the bleeding long enough to move her. Her face was ashen; he didn't have a whole lot of time. I slid him the keys to my truck and met his eyes. "Get her in and go."

I watched her glassy eyes flutter. For a vampire, she looked pretty human. Her eyes widened, bringing my instincts a little aid. I shot up and embedded my claws in the face of the wolf trying to ambush us. Abbey had moved off the vampire and was starting in on a pair of werewolves that were trying to corner her, leaving another two to me. They were waiting, looking at the three of us sitting on the floor like wounded bunnies about to be eaten. A soft scraping on the floor drew my eyes down to her crossbow, her fingers twitching to push it toward me. I glanced at Gory, watching the blood run from her mouth.

"I am going to cover you," I said. My muscles tensed as I picked up the crossbow, forcing back the pain in my side to cover their way. "Take her and go."

He threw me my keys. "I've got my own."

I met the vampire's gaze and understood that it was dishonorable for him to leave a fight he'd intended to start. This still wasn't his fight. He had my blessing to go. I waited until they rushed me to fire, and I didn't hold back. They let out sharp yelps and howls of agony while the silver ripped into them, punching through at least part way in each. I heard them shift and felt them go, but I didn't turn to see. I was letting it rip. They dropped to their knees, eyes glassy. Only then did I stop. When they hit the floor, something cold clicked into place.

I heard bodies drop, but I didn't move. I felt my throat tense. Slowly, I turned to Abbey and caught sight of her sniffing the air. She was a glorious creature, hunched over and primal. Her hair was wild around her, cloaking her like fur. I held the bow down at my side and went to her.

They weren't dead, they were dying slowly. She snapped their necks and her claws had cut enough major blood vessels to make it messy. The vampire, though...

I didn't feel like I should've been so calm around dead people. There was no blood coming out of the wounds anymore, it had all spilled out. It was everywhere, all over the girl and the floor and Abbey's hands. I reached out to grab her and get her out of here, but she turned to me so quickly it made me jump. Her eyes were dark, still violet and warm, but not entirely Abbey. I touched her hair softly, "Babe...we gotta go."

The touch made her eyes flutter. She crawled under my arm and pressed herself against me. A soft sound of approval burst from my lips, responding to her wolf-to-wolf. She obediently followed me out. I thought how sick it would make me to come home to that, but as soon as we reached the gravel, we were off in a run. I boosted her into the truck and tossed the bow on the floor at her feet. She shied away from the silver instinctively. "Good girl," I muttered. We forgot our seatbelts again as we left in a rush, and I pulled out my phone to send the message along the chain.  
_Luken, let your dad know things went down. It's a long story. Rushing out to S.G. to make sure vamps are ok. Tell all of you later._

As soon as I'd contacted, my phone exploded in texts. I dropped it into the ash tray and focused on the road.

For a long time, Abbey sat curled up in the corner of the truck, her wild eyes focused on me. She looked worse than I'd thought with her hands covered in blood, the ice on her skin melting and leaving dewdrops on her body. I cussed as a stoplight paused us, but threw open the back and reached out for the tool box. I popped the lid, grabbed a towel and tossed it onto her feet, and shut it once again before peeling off at the switch to green. She stared at it like a terrified animal. We didn't have the time to take things slow, but I gradually eased off the gas and leaned over to help her.

The first transformation was always terrifying. You lost control of yourself, in a lot of cases, completely. The instinct to hunt was almost always assuaged with actual hunts, but hers had been met the way we hoped never to meet it. I dried her skin as best I could and cleaned the blood from her hands. She crawled forward slowly until she had nuzzled under my arm like a puppy. Her eyes slowly began to lower, drooping to half-lidded before closing completely, and she sunk into laying on my lap.

"Shit," I cursed out loud. "Come on Abbey, wake up. I can't just leave you in the truck." I kicked up the gas with her asleep. If I left her in the truck, she'd swing her feet down and get hurt on one of the arrows or something. She slept deeply, though. Her muscles slowly relaxed and I watched the obvious signs of her transformation subside. Her soft, white hair was splayed like snow against my thigh, her hand on my knee and her grip gentle. She could've fallen asleep watching a movie for all the way she rested. I hoped she wouldn't remember what she'd done for her sake, she blamed herself enough for Ray.

God, Ray. Shit.

I didn't even realize how tired I was until I thought about Ray. It had been a really long two days. A lot of the time had bled together, and it was only in my race there that I remembered maybe forty-eight hours ago being rushed to the hospital by Gory and Bram. It felt like a year ago.

I pulled into a spot outside the main entrance and picked up the crossbow. Bram and Gory's hearse was maybe twenty feet from the truck, so I climbed out and headed over. Their dog laid in the back, either sleeping or sulking. I ended up locking up the truck with the keys inside for Abbey and putting the crossbow in the bottom of the toolbox.

As I walked in, I got the feeling that I wasn't supposed to have walked in on the moment of vulnerability that my sort-of friend was going through. He was sitting against the far wall, as close to his other half as he could possibly be, and his bloody hands were pressed to his face. I didn't have to be a genius to know he was bawling, his face was all wet and there was even blood in his hair from pushing it off his damp face. I swung by the nurse's station to grab the box of tissues and headed over.

I sunk into the seat next to him and put down the box. He didn't move to look at me, he just sucked in a deep breath that shook on the way in. It hadn't been that long since I wanted to kill the guy with a burning passion. I guess it was just something about seeing somebody cry that made them very human, whether they were human in species or not. I hadn't seen another guy cry since Clawd tried to dunk a basket when we were ten and cracked his head on the driveway.

"Hey," I said lightly, "You're not gonna help her going to pieces like this. You've gotta clean up and look tough."

He pulled his hands away from his face and I knew if he had the strength, he would've hit me. He was waiting for them to come through and give him bad news. It was the look in his eyes that reminded me how very few days ago I'd been in his place, even though I knew that in all my pain, I hadn't hurt as bad as he was right now. His very red lips shook as he tried to speak, and tears rolled out of his totally bloodshot eyes. There was blood smeared on his cheeks, blood smeared everywhere. I pulled out a couple tissues and put them in his hands. He didn't even look at them.

"She's all I have," he choked out after a minute of staring at me in disgust.

I hadn't really thought of it that way.  
They had been together longer than most people ever hoped to be with someone. They had probably lost their families and a lot of their friends. I didn't know how it would feel to lose somebody that I had gone through that much with. It would be like losing Abbey, and the transformation was making sure that I wouldn't for a long time.

I nodded. I didn't know what else to do. He finally looked down at the tissues in his hands and sunk back in the chair. His floppy bangs dipped backward and he tried to wipe off his face, but he kept crying, and all the blood on him was making it difficult. He wasn't going to move to go clean himself up, I knew that for a fact. I knew what waiting was like; you moved and something happened. So I got up for him and went to the bathroom, wet some paper towels and came back. He looked at me like he expected them to be laced with cyanide, but he took them anyway.

I played courier pigeon for a while. I went to the cafeteria and got us some drinks, and we sat in the waiting room watching the Pink Panther in Spanish for at least half the movie. The more time we spent there, the more miserable he seemed to get. I didn't bug him either. I knew firsthand how it was when people tried to cheer you up when you felt like shit, it was half the reason I checked out early. I couldn't stand having my cousins go back and forth between crying and asking me if I needed anything and cracking stupid jokes to try to make themselves feel better.

"We started renovating because we were trying to have a baby," he said softly. It wasn't the kind of sentiment I wanted to hear out of a seventeen year old looking vampire, but I dealt with what I'd been given.

"Thinking about it a while?" I asked. I didn't know what the hell to say to a guy who wanted to have kids. Most guys that talked about getting their girlfriends pregnant were usually really pissed with themselves for doing it. I kept forgetting that they were an old married couple in teenage bodies, that they weren't like Abbey and me.

He nodded. "She's so hellbent on naming our daughter something foreign and pretty. Italian or Romanian. I like Desmond or Damien for a boy. She doesn't appreciate the Daredevil initials, but I think she would go with it." The more he talked about her, the more faded he seemed to get. It was like the grief was wearing him out. Being without her, no matter for how short a time or the reason behind it, was wearing him out. He was losing the will to exist beside me and I had nothing to say to make it better.

"She's not going to die," I said after a long and awkward pause. "I may call her a princess all the time, but she's not stupid enough to die when she knows how to keep herself alive."

He closed his eyes and laid back in the chair. It got darker and darker outside, and eventually Abbey came in with an unused paint tin out of the toolbox. She took Bram's keys and went to clean it up. I left a few bucks on the table so she could pick up something for dog food, and she took it in silence on her way out. We were operating mechanically. I didn't think any of us could take much more grief. The grim thought struck me that maybe, if Gory died, one or more of us would follow. Bram would. I'd put money on that. It sucked to think, but she was all he had. I'd seen the guy fight and I'd seen him cry. He was no wuss about either, and I was ninety nine percent sure he was still packing heat.

I was starting to fall asleep into the psychotic late night Spanish television when I heard footsteps. I nudged him to get up, and as soon as they registered, he shot to his feet and went to meet them.

He didn't come back after that. I was sure Abbey was probably sleeping in the hearse with the dog, so I got up after another twenty minutes and went outside. My parents were probably livid, so as I went into the passenger side of Bram's car and bummed a cigarette, I pulled out my phone to call them, and I really hoped that I wasn't going to have to take in their dog.


	22. Chapter 22

_Chapter 22_

I went down the hall mechanically. The young doctor was explaining everything in detail, not leaving me much time to process it all. My brain had shut off quite a while ago, so I supposed none of it was really registering anyway. He paused outside a room, about to continue when I brushed by him and went inside.

I was used to seeing her asleep, but I wasn't used to this. It took me a very long time to process that the beeps, few and far between, were her natural heartbeat. I blinked, and I watched her while she laid there. They must've had a mixture of drugs in that IV, because she wouldn't have slept so soundly if they didn't. She looked like hell, but she was alive. They hooked up both of her arms to bags, and it made me kind of disgusted. Blood and drugs were circulating through her system, keeping her down and trying to heal her. She looked so delicate and so thoroughly broken that it caused me immeasurable pain. I sat beside her and took her delicate hand into my own.

There were deep, bruise-like shadows around her eyes. They were dark from the lack of blood. Her veins were so pronounced in her so-white skin, her lips so white. They left her glasses on. That was a tiny comfort. Her boots were still on, and even though the sheet came up to her bandaged chest, I knew her skirt had survived. I wanted to laugh, to wake her and tease her that I hoped she hadn't particularly liked that bra, but she looked so small. If I touched her incorrectly, I could break her beautiful figure. They didn't make this delicate of glass.

"I really have to advise you, she shouldn't have visitors-" the mousy little man said.

"I can honestly inform you, I don't care." She shouldn't do a lot of things she did anyway. She shouldn't have come with me. She shouldn't have blocked that hit. She shouldn't have taken aim at Daciana by herself. She needed me.

I waited until we were alone to duck around the tubes and wires and sink down against the bedding at her side. She didn't move as she would've normally, and it made a part of me burn with fury. If I had the heart to see her in pain, I would've taken the sedation away, but I couldn't watch her eyes plead for my help anymore. My arm draped over her waist and my face sunk against her hair. She was so soft. She still smelled so much like herself, so untainted by the hospital sterilization. Maybe the scent just went beyond them. I pressed my lips to the side of her head. Her pretty, fragile body was wrapped in bandages. I didn't want to know what they had done to remove the impalement, nor did I want to see the wound. I just knew that I would be worshipping the place for the rest of my days.

She budged at my kiss. A silent hiss passed her lips and her eyes fluttered. Irritated, she pulled on her breathing tubes and winced as she liberated them and cast them aside. The needle moving in her vein must've hurt, because she lowered her arm instantly and shot me an accusing glare. "Did you have anything to do with this?"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "Saving your life, yes. All the necessary procedure, no."

She proceeded to curse a blue streak in Romanian. I laughed. The sound of my own laughter felt so foreign until the weight of grief had lifted from my chest. The hours she had been asleep had been undone by the pain, and I could tell that it was still more agony than she was willing to endure, but it was bearable agony this time. She looked at me as I laughed and suddenly gripped my shirt. I paused, fearful that my laughter shook the bed too much and caused her pain. Her very white lips curled up into a wicked little smile, "Do I still have my knife?"

I rose and caressed the upper portion of her boot, nodding as I felt the hilt. Her fingers traced down my jacket's lapel and she used it to guide me back to her. Her eyes fluttered teasingly, "You owe me your life."

"I always have," I murmured. My lips pressed to hers softly. She was so very cold, and if it wouldn't have hurt I would've lifted her to wrap her in my clothes. I nudged the blankets up a bit and continued to lay beside her with my arm draped around her waist. She glanced at the blood bag on the intravenous before flicking those devious burgundy eyes to me. "I'm thirsty."

"You're awfully demanding for a woman I worried so much about."

"I'm tired, I'm hungry and I'm in pain. Either oblige me or shut up and be pretty next to me." Her eyes shone with teasing that made me smile against my will. I ran my fingers up her arm, trying to bring her warmth. My wrist lingered at her lips, but she closed her eyes slowly. "No...I'd rather not bite you. Just have you wait on me."

I nicked my tongue on my fangs and kissed her gently. The taste of it on my lips blossomed her to me like a delicate, newly-turned mortal. I kissed her until she bit down forcefully on my lower lip and drew the blood from me with a measure of pleasurable violence. I massaged warmth into her shoulder while she fed.

She yawned and withdrew, shaking her head as if returning from a spell. She pressed her half-bared figure to me and winced. I slid my jacket from my shoulders and draped it over her, bared holsters be damned. She curled into the warmth of my body, looking up at me with muted irritation. "You would think that of all the things they do, they could at least make it warmer in here for me."

"Do you want me to send Abbey back to our place to fetch you some clothes?" I murmured.

She smiled lightly, "I'm sure she has a bear fur parka of her own she can lend to a friend in need for a day or two."

There was so much pain in her eyes. I lowered my lips to her neck and kissed her gently throbbing pulse. I pressed my lips to the indentation of her collarbone and slowly slid lower. She braced herself as if waiting for pain, but I only brushed my lips to the bandages over her heart.

"It struck, you know," she whispered. "My heart is just rather invulnerable to any wounds that are caused by beings other than you."

I kissed the spot tenderly again and again. She relaxed, creating a cocoon of my jacket around herself with the spot still bared to me. I could've wept into her bandages for her well-being. I traced her flawless skin in all its cold and cradled myself close to her, attempting to cause as little pain as possible.

"Don't cry for me," she murmured, brushing her fingers over my cheek. They were cold and she was so weak, so much more weak than she let on. "I will never leave you."

I raised my eyes to her own. Even in such a state, she made me such a promise. She could breathe on her own and sustain herself, yes, but I wouldn't have put it past her to do much more. She didn't seem capable of moving, nonetheless carrying on herself. I traced my fingers against her heart-shaped jaw and watched her eyes flutter. She smiled, fangs fully bared in girlish glee. "You tickled me," she teased.

"I love you," I whispered and pressed my lips to her softer, paler ones. They felt warmer from being touched, but not sustained on their own. I kissed her softly over and over again. My ears caught every gentle inhale and soft exhale until she shifted and cried out lightly. I withdrew in shock. Her eyes were wide and her breath came in sudden gasps. She clutched my hand in her own tightly, the other clasped over her bandages.

"You need to sleep," I murmured, "Sleep heals."

"I need blood," she protested, "And I need to pee!"

I knew better than to argue with her when she wanted something, but the idea of her rising to her feet and actually managing to use the bathroom on her own seemed like a joke, even now. She looked at me as if she expected my aid, and I shook my head, "I will not do what a doctor has not given me permission to do."

Her eyes narrowed, "Now you decide to be a boy scout." Whether the mood swings came from her pain, her hunger or the drugs I didn't know, but I did find it mildly hilarious to watch her flounder for a way to combine the IV bags onto the same pole. At last, she looked at me in desperation, "Move it onto the other one."

"What's the magic word?" I teased.

"Now, while I have a measure of dignity around you!"

My amusement softened. I transferred the bag of clear liquid from her opposite side onto the pole holding the blood bag, and I scooped her up. She winced, her breath coming with a bit more pained labor, but she allowed me to give her the measure of dignity she liked. The sheet trailed with her for a few inches before falling from her boots. I set her on her feet and waited.

"Go!" she snapped.

I crossed my arms and stood in place, "I've taken your clothes off before, don't be difficult about it now."

If there was one thing about Gory I adored, it was her strength. Strength had a habit of being transferred to her pride, though. She looked at me with severe stress present in her expression, and as much as she loathed it, I tended to her. She looked away as if the last of her dignity had been robbed of her, and I kissed her forehead.

"Please go," she murmured, "I can't go with you in here."

I surrendered at that. She waited until I stepped out to proceed about her business. It was the worst idea possible, and yet she proceeded with her tenacity as she would've done no matter the cost. I gave her apt time and nudged the door. She stood, slightly unbalanced, at the sink and washed up. I rushed to her and caught her sides to support her. She winced, allowing me to lift her and take her back to bed with the IV pulled along at her side.

"I guess we'll have to see now," she panted as I laid her down in bed and went to work unfastening her boots. My eyes raised in questioning. She took her time catching her breath before continuing. "About the killings. We'll have to see if they stop now."

I scowled and tugged them free of her legs, "They should. Abbey took care of our little issue."

"I remember," she murmured. From the tenderness of her tone, I lifted my eyes to see if she were in pain, though I could tell this pain was not physical. I tucked her in and wrapped her up, remaining close to her while she settled in. I holstered her knife in my belt, taken off guard when she caught my arm and traced my forearm lightly with her nails. I rose a brow. She smiled teasingly, "You know...I never liked Daciana. I'm sure Valentine will be happy now."

"He turned her willingly," I replied. "He's always been a bit of a mother's boy. I doubt he'll take it well."

She just smiled and traced her fingers over my arm, "If he needs a woman to latch on to, I hear the little wolf girl is looking for a companion."

I laughed silently at the idea of Valentine attempting to keep up with a child. I draped my arm over Gory's waist and nestled against her. "Only worry about yourself. We can take care of Valentine later."

She hummed lightly in affirmation and closed her eyes.


	23. Chapter 23

_Chapter 23_

I curled up in the back of Romulus's truck with our friends' dog for a while. The overgrown puppy sat on my lap, sipped water out of the tin and ate dry hospital cereal like dog food. He settled against me and laid his head on my lap while I scratched behind his ears. Eventually, though, his head lifted and so did mine.

A very familiar silver car pulled around the corner quickly and stopped in the middle of the isle without properly parking. Kate jumped out of the driver's seat and ran over to me. She propelled herself up off the tire and climbed over the tin and paper bowl. I sat up and hugged her properly, careful to keep Bram and Gory's dog's leash in my grip.

"You're okay?" she whispered, sniffing and wiping her mascara-smeared eyes.

I nodded, "I'm okay."

"Good," she whispered before giving me another squeeze. She smelled very floral and very woodsy. I released her first. "Did you leave your date?"

She glanced back at her little car, making me realize it was brimming over with occupants. "I brought him along and stopped for the runt on the way."

"I can hear you!" I heard Rocco call.

She immediately wiped the smeared makeup from her eyes and stood, drawing the vampires' dog to stand with her. "Where's Rom?"

"Inside," I replied. She hopped out of the back. I followed against my better judgement, but thankfully Rocco produced some newspaper from the messy backseat and rushed to my aid in outfitting the back of the hearse to be rather dog proof. Kate headed in ahead of us, but her date, thankfully, was able to navigate her car enough to park it next to Romulus's. I gave Sunny's head a kiss and locked him in without tying him in place. Rocco sighed, "Think it's too hot in there for him?"

"Windows are cracked," I murmured. Although he whined for a moment, he settled down quickly. Once he had, we headed after her. Andy trailed after us, much to both of our surprise. Rocco rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "Was there another?"

I nodded. "They'll stop now."

His eyes lifted to me. "That was what this was all about, wasn't it? You guys went after them."

I nodded. My clothes probably held the evidence of my fight, but no one had commented. I was starting to wonder just how common large-scale battles were in Salem. The bright inner lights of the lobby made me wince momentarily. My eyes took a minute to adjust, but I breathed a sigh of relief to see Bram gone. Romulus looked like he'd just been woken up, and was prying himself free of Kate's tight embrace. I forced myself to smile in what I hoped looked like comfort as we came up and sat near. It only seemed to help Kate, not my restless boyfriend. Without another word, he got up and went into the heart of the hospital. As much as I wanted to trail him, I didn't want to be rude.

"I'll be honest, when Rom didn't reply...I thought you guys were dead." Kate wiped her eyes and brought her legs up onto the worn vinyl. I didn't want to tell her how many germs were probably on those seats, but there were probably considerably less than human hospitals.

I didn't answer. The fact that we weren't was probably enough. Rocco looked down at the floor and Kate tried in vain to fix her makeup. We were all exhausted. I didn't even know what time it was, but if she was out with Andy, it couldn't have been that late. It just felt like it was four AM and I didn't have any energy left in my system.

"Have you ever seen the pictures of the black doctors trying to save one of the KKK?" Andy finally said as he gazed up at the ceiling. It attracted all of our attention. He probably expected us to answer, but with our silent stares as prompting to continue, he closed his eyes and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just wondering how many humans they've treated here. People that hate and fear us owe us their lives an awful lot."

"Some kid got taken right out of it's mother's stroller," Kate said softly. "With all the murders, New Salem looked at us. Nobody can catch this guy. The motive keeps changing."

"No, it didn't," I murmured. She looked at me, but neither of the boys did. They understood without speaking. "They just wanted to kill. They were making a point. Trying to turn us against each other again, maybe. They wanted to start a vampire-werewolf turf war, that much was obvious. They took our own. They killed so obviously wolf that we would've thought they were vampires."

"You know who did this?" she whispered.

I brought my feet up into the chair and tucked them under me. "I killed them."

My words hung in the air between the four of us with silence. How many other people had admitted to murder in this very waiting room? Was that why there were no cameras, or did people not want to fund them because we were monsters and we didn't need them? Were they justified, or was I just tired and over-thinking?

Romulus emerged while we were all still silent and glanced to me, "Think you can drive?"

I nodded and stood. I handed him his keys in silence. He caught my arm and brought me close, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. "Head back to Bram and Gory's. They gave you permission to go in and take care of Sunny. If you wanna stay..."

Honestly, I didn't want to go off to the woods to some house I'd almost been killed in. I didn't want to leave their dog alone either, but maybe my parents wouldn't protest to housing him overnight. He gently gripped my shoulders and met my eyes in silence. "Hey, Roc? Think you could tail us in the hearse, bring it back to Abbey's?" Sometimes I was glad we could speak without words to each other. I slid my arms around his waist and brought myself close to him. His fingers ran over the damp tears in my shirt and made me want to cry. I was so tired. "Kate," Romulus said in a more gentle tone, "Go do what you were doing. Have fun. That's an order from your alpha."

"With all due respect, alpha, I thought you were dead. I can't exactly go out for ice cream like nothing happened." Even though she protested, Andy got up and offered his hands to her. Rocco rose too, taking the hearse keys from me and going for the door. I waited until they had left the immediate earshot to murmur to him, "Are they okay?"

"She's gonna be here for a while, but yeah. They're gonna be fine." He wrapped his arm around my back and led me out into the cool night air. It almost matched the air-conditioned interior. As we went for our respective cars, he gave my side a gentle squeeze, "So are we."

I just nodded. There wasn't much else I could do. He climbed into the truck and let me get in on my own. We had been flying over the streets without seatbelts all night, so it felt almost ridiculous to put one on now. The clock on the radio read ten to midnight, and I leaned against the seat while he put on the classic rock station and tried to shake off the obvious.

I looked at him. I saw the cuts on his skin and the blood on his clothes, my blood, his blood, other peoples' blood. We both could've used a shower and a long sleep. In the state he was in, I didn't want him to feel obliged to me. I nudged his knee with my foot, "Go home tonight."

He smiled slightly, 'No offence, but I planned on it."

Several songs made by bands only he would know played, and I watched him try to sing along. The physical pain was so obvious, but it was the knowledge that his emotional pain had been curbed at the very least that brought me comfort. He pulled in to his house across the street and I saw Rocco pull the hearse into mine. I crawled across the seat, caught his face in my palm and brought it to my lips. I managed to kiss the spot between his cheek and his lips, but he didn't seem to mind. His arm snaked around me for a moment and I felt the tender brush of his claws against my lower back. "Go sleep," he murmured. "I need to talk to you tomorrow about all that."

If I had the energy, I would've told him to do it now. He didn't have the strength himself, and instead of going all the way back across the car, I simply crawled out the driver's door after him. He beeped the lock and smiled. It was a very strained smile. He had less energy than I did, I could tell, but the lights went on at the lock's beep immediately. Even in pain, he went to scale into his window to avoid the crowds, and I stole off across the street as if we'd been caught sneaking out together.

Rocco was busy unloading torn up newspaper and stuffing it into our recycling bin. I took the leash from his hand, and though the tin and bowl were empty, he stacked them in the corner with the unused paper and shut the door. He passed me the keys in silence and glanced to his sister's car waiting for him at the end of the block.

"Our parents are going to kill us," he said finally.

I shrugged, "It seems inevitable."

He beamed at my use of a really big word and gave me a little wave before running off. He didn't want to be caught here as much as either of us did. I didn't know what to do with their dog, so I brought her inside. I couldn't count the times my parents had waited up for me anymore, but I knew I was leaving dirty footprints on my way up the stairs since the dew made the dirt like paint. Grace got up as soon as I opened the door to lecture me, but then her eyes widened. She took one look at the state I was in and rushed around the couch to me. I shut and locked the door and dropped Sunny's leash. He ran like a bolt up the stairs, probably following my scent.

"Abbey," she breathed as if she were about to gush over me. I closed my eyes and shook my head. My father caught my arm as I passed and growled down to me, "Did that boy-?"

"No, Papa," I said. I pushed off his hand and sighed, "Is a very long story. Promise will tell in the morning." I was slipping back into unfinished thoughts. They followed me as far as the stairs, but let me go up in peace. Shiver and the hound were sniffing each other inquisitively as I entered. They looked up at my presence, but I didn't register theirs. I barely shut my door before I took off my clothes and went into the bathroom.

My crystal hung around my neck like a reminder that hours before, I had been laying in the grass, as safe and pristine as it always ended up being. It looked so out of place throwing prisms on my skin tonight. I expected fur where the tints of blue still lingered. I slipped it off and set it in the toothbrush holder with the chain out for safekeeping.

The bath water was warm. I felt like I needed warm. It was such a cool night, such a wet night, and my skin was so damp. The dew had seeped into my clothes only to be mixed with blood. I had been warm only for that time when I was not myself. I scrubbed my skin with the soap bar and lathered my hair until some color from my streaks came off in the shampoo. I washed, over and over, like I could never get clean. The warm water turned cold, and eventually I shut it off. I reveled in a bath of lukewarm water on the third dose of cleaning. I felt drunk with understanding. Romulus needed to talk to me because I had made myself like him. I defended them when no one else could, and I didn't even have the energy to grab a towel or call for my mother in aid. If she had come to baby me, I would've accepted it. In the soapy water, I admired myself. My biceps were firm, my calves were strong. The dirt was finally off my feet. I felt like a wolf. I crawled out of the tub with more effort than I should've needed, and I grabbed a towel for myself. I got half dry before I wore out and went into my bedroom with it wrapped around myself. Wearing nothing but the soft blue terrycloth, I crawled onto my bed. My hair left a wet stain on my pillow, but my head sunk into it like lead.

I wondered if Romulus needed help in his bath. I wondered if he had the energy to get to one, or if he fell asleep in bed still dirty. Shiver snore-trumpeted quietly, and I felt the soft occasional thump of a tail on the leg of my bed.

I don't know how long I laid there, but my mind was blurry and my senses were racing. Kate was right, we were alive. We beat the odds when they were stacked against us. Any one of us alone couldn't have done it.

I fell asleep wearing a triumphant smile.


	24. Chapter 24

_Chapter 24_

I laid in bed for a while, listening to my family mulling around downstairs. The fog of sleep lifted slowly, and bit by bit I questioned why I wasn't at Abbey's and why pretty much every part of my body was screaming in agony. I sucked in a deep breath and rolled on my back, but it didn't help. Then I remembered the stitches. Memories returned all at once, totally not glazed over. Ray was dead, my girlfriend had taken on the half-wolf thing, and we nearly got our friends killed.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

I heard my door open, but I was trying to concentrate on being silent. I knew my breath was rough, but a little figure sunk into the bed next to me. Nina curled up to my side, her little body enough to push the mattress far enough away from my skin to ease the pain a little. She froze suddenly, "Are you naked?"

I honestly didn't know. It took me a minute to remember that I hardly had the energy to bathe, but I didn't need an infection, so I had anyway. "Underwear," I muttered as I tried to roll over. She made a disgusted sound, but she didn't move away. I was forced to open my eyes and get up. My bladder felt like it was gonna bust anyway, and I hadn't wet the bed since I was in diapers; I didn't intend to start now.

It must've been something about my bathroom that attracted people, but Nina followed me. Girl or not, twelve or not, she followed me in. At least, unlike Ray, she had the brains to shut the door.

"Okay, you're aware I don't sit down to go, right? Cause I don't want you to go running to your mother talking about how I ruined your childhood or something."

"I got the memo two years ago," she said before hopping up on the counter. I sighed and went. She looked away, another thing I was grateful for. The more I could pretend I didn't have an audience, the better.

"You came home covered in blood and totally whacked," she said, "You killed somebody, didn't you?"

I didn't answer until I was done. I nudged her over with my elbow and flicked on the faucet, "Did you have to go or are you just being a creep?"

"Rom," she persisted. "Did you kill somebody?"

"I killed the people that killed Ray. That's it. Now go play or pee or something."

Saying it made it a lot more real. I killed someone. Really, Abbey had done a great deal of it and Bram was no slacker, but it was true. I was as responsible as they were. They weren't going to take any heat if it came to taking heat. Nina looked at me for a very long time while I got ready and then left. She left the door open while I was brushing my teeth and I could've kicked it shut, but immediately, her older brother came in and joined up. I spit and rinsed off my toothbrush, making a sound of _why-the-fuck-can't-I-get-any-privacy-in-this-house _before heading off to my room. Nina was right; a pile of bloody clothes sat in the corner of my room. I put on pants and threw on an undershirt, screw everything else. My stitches were killing me anyway. Instead of climbing out, I walked out, and I locked my room behind me. Barefoot and still kinda hazy, I wandered over to Abbey's and went around the back to let myself in.

It was quiet. Really quiet. If Bloodgood and Abbey's dad were up, they weren't doing much of anything. I went right up to Abbey's room and nudged open her door. Collar tags jingled and Bram and Gory's dog poked his head out from under her bed, but upon seeing me he lowered back to the floor as if completely unsurprised. For a minute, I was surprised. I wondered where the blood was, why the window hadn't been clawed open and everything covered in dirt, and then I realized she'd come back to herself and she was laying on a towel that must've come loose overnight. My side hurt enough to keep the change in blood flow minimal. I went over to her bed and wrapped her up in the towel again, but I didn't have the strength to pick her up and move her onto her pillows.

God, she looked gorgeous. Her skin was so pale, just like her hair. The streaks were splayed around her shoulders and framed her outline against the ice blue sheets. I ran my fingers down her neck and watched her shift, a tiny smile taking up her full lips. Everything was so full about her. I ran my claws down her arm. It was so strange not to feel her muscles tense. I lowered myself beside her and lightly kissed the princess awake.

"Mm," she murmured. Her fingers slid up into my hair and she held me to her collarbone. I showered her in attention. My hand ran over the towel to rest at her hip, giving her soft curves a gentle squeeze of appreciation.

"Morning, sunshine," I muttered.

Her arms wound around my neck, bringing me closer. I kissed her for a moment but had to pull back with the pain in my side. She smiled up at me like she was drunk and stretched. Her toes curled and she ran her claws through her hair in the most appealing gesture I had ever seen. "Feels good?" I murmured. She nodded and nudged me with her foot. I got up and changed places with her. She headed into her bathroom and threw me a rested, sexy glance. I sunk onto her bed with an audible sigh.

I really couldn't curse myself out enough for falling for the most gorgeous girl on earth. Yeah, some girls were good looking, but _Abbey._ Clothes off or clothes on, God help me with that towel! Alright, she was right, I don't think enough with my brain. I forced myself up and waited for her. She came out a few minutes later, still in her towel. With a teasing smirk, she tossed it at me and it hit me in the face, "Don't look."

I sat there with a blue towel on my face, completely in a sensory shock at the sheer amount of blackberry body wash and sea silk shampoo scent on it. Christ, did she only use things that were blue? I wasn't sure if I was delighted at shopping for her made easy or horrified that some kind of phenomenon was going on with my girlfriend.

She peeled it off my face before I had the chance to think on it any further. Her eyes were like gemstones, sparkling warmly as she crawled onto my lap. Her arms wound around my neck, forcing me to wrap her in my arms to keep her from falling off my lap, and she kissed me. I didn't know how long it had taken to process how much I needed to be kissed by her, but I needed it. It was only a light little kiss, but it left me breathing in the coolness that was Abbey. I pressed my mouth hungrily to her neck where her too-big shirt draped aside. She giggled as I nipped her skin. I paused, realizing something was off. "You're not wearing your crystal."

She shrugged, "Do not need it then. Slept like baby."

I set her down on the bed beside me and met her eyes. She toyed with my hair, winding curls around her fingers to draw me in closer. I caught her hand and released it from there, "We need to talk about what happened last night."

Her gaze fell. I heard her heart beat increase slightly and I pressed her trapped hand against mine. "Abbey...this isn't gonna go away now. You know how we are on the moon? That's because we learned how to control it. It's gonna take time...you're gonna need help." Her eyes lifted, unleashing the full force of amethyst understanding. "It's going to be dangerous," I continued. "For you and everyone around you. I know your parents won't be really happy about it, but I want you to start spending full moons over with us. It'd be easier to deal with it in the pack."

She nodded, "You will not let me hurt anyone like that again."

"I wouldn't have stopped you if I had the strength to," I replied. "Those guys deserved it, Abbey. Don't think for a second that they didn't."

She met my eyes and rose slowly. I watched her cross the room to her computer and sink into her chair. She looked amazing in her little shorts and her oversized shirt. I was used to seeing her comfortable, but seeing her like this made me happy. She signed on the moment it came up and started checking up on Bram and Gory. She must've enjoyed what she saw, because she broke into a wide smile and leaned on her elbow.

"Abbey," I said lightly.

Her eyes flicked back to me expectantly, her brow raised slightly while she waited for me to speak. I admired her for a moment before smirking, "You kicked ass."

I could tell her I love her all I want, I could tell her how pretty she was and how amazing she made my life. I could shower Abbey Bominable in compliments and she'd accept them, but she'd never take them to heart. That one she did. Every other female on earth wanted to hear how much they were loved and how great they looked, but Abbey just wanted to hear that she was useful. Her cheeks pinked slightly and she glanced back at her computer only to burst into laughter and begin typing quickly.

"What?" I teased.

"Heath is such a dork!" she laughed. Even in her heavy Russian, it didn't sound foreign coming from her. Her words, though little, meant something. I sat around and watched her with the admiration that I never had for another person. It was nice to simply have her company, even if we weren't paying attention to each other.

...

Valentine barged through the entryway of the hospital and tore back into the recovery wing. He was set to scream raging, bloody murder at his so-called friends, yet as he saw the state they were in, he paused. Bram, though smiling, looked exhausted, and Gory was hooked to a myriad of machines monitoring her recovery. Her lips were split in a warm smile, her hand against his cheek as if to reassure him, and her broken-looking figure shook with laughter. The vampire exhaled his anger, inadvertently announcing himself.

"Val," she said, her voice like a song. She reached out to him even as her husband's eyes remained guarded.

"Looks like they have you all doped up," he murmured as he sat beside her.

She smiled and clasped his hand tightly in her free one. He took note of the dual IVs and scowled, raising her wrist to his lips and placing a gentle kiss to it. "Your poor, tainted bloodstream."

She laughed in glossy-eyed, drug-induced bliss. Her fingers squeezed his tightly, "I'm so sorry about your mom. Please don't blame them, we were the ones who had to stop her."

"Believe me, if I'd known what was going on, I would've talked to her myself." He traced his thumb slowly over her knuckles, "I'm so sorry for what she did to you."

She shrugged and beamed, "Blood of the covenant!"

"For the amount she's been saying it, I think people believe vampires run in covenants now," her husband murmured. Valentine clasped Bram's shoulder lightly and met his eyes, "If you can admit to me wholeheartedly, brother, that this was your doing and not the wolves', I can promise I will not finish what my mother started."

Bram's lips quirked slightly and he released one of his hands from Gory's to clasp him gently on the shoulder, "I can admit to you wholeheartedly, Valentine. Abbey and Romulus were dragged into this of no fault of their own. It's time we make peace before someone else is hurt."


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N- I was going to push for a few more chapters of progressive storyline, but I think it would probably be best to wrap it up like this. Sorry there wasn't much notice. This has been an awsome fun to work with, but unfortunately, the White Wolf series ends here. Abbey and Rom will probably make a ship return among the few other stories I have going/will do. Thank you guys so much for this._

_Chapter 25_

_Four months later_

It was four AM and it was pouring. The moon was peeking out between the combating clouds, and while they swirled and made their mess, we ran. We were soaked to the skin, dashing for cover between trees and completely without need of the river. It was freezing. The autumn breeze blew dying leaves in my face as they whipped off the trees, and the occasional clash of clouds created a low, tender rumble above us. It was beautiful.

I ran up to the soggy banks and watched the water slammed with harsh raindrops, splashing and rippling like a moving painting. With the occasional wind gust, the river would churn around its rocks like rapids. I waited only a moment until my pack came back into earshot to take off again.

School was insane in the best possible way, and although my parents had a difficult time understanding how this entire situation with my gifts had developed, I had joined the ranks of students taking one full moon day off a month.

I broke across the sopping wet field of high grass and ran around the manor house. I leapt onto the step against the door and rang the bell. The thought of having woken the people inside only flicked across my mind, gone as quickly as it had come since the whisper sound of the lock releasing drove it away. Bram, pajama clad and leaning on the door of the toasty house, looked at me with openly raised eyes. "No. You're soaking wet, Abbey. We just finished cleaning."

"Let her in," I heard Gory call, "Just get her a towel."

"She's not even wearing shoes!" he called over his shoulder. I wasn't wearing my crystal either. Something had balanced in my metabolism, coupled with the slowly descending temperatures of the end of the year. Halloween was any day now, and it was the farthest cry from the previous year as possible.

"If I have to get up again," she called over to him. He relented with a sigh and moved aside to let me in. I knew I'd take my time catching up to them later.

Gory and Bram's house, after the renovation, was still spectacular. The walls were freshly painted, some trim redone, furnature moved and the like. It wasn't a complete upheaval, just a change. Just like the sight of my now-friend wrapped in a blanket on her sofa with _The Devil's Carnival_ on her screen. She was curled up tightly even despite the warmth. Before my feet touched the hardwood, though, her husband had returned and tossed a towel at me. I laughed and dried off like a human before heading over to take up the floor near them. "Is it scary?"

"No, I'm just freezing. The temperature plunged twenty degrees in an hour. I don't know how you stand it."

I was going to point out that she was anemic, but her other half curled up to her in much the same way. It must've just been a vampire thing. I glanced up at her expectantly, and wrapped in her husband's arms with her eyes completely fixated on the screen, she felt my gaze and broke into a smile. "Yes, they fixed it. Yes, I'm now permitted to go about my life as normal. And you can tell Romulus to stop counting the days, it's none of his business."

"So yes?" I teased.

She actually looked away from the TV to address me, "No. Try again after Christmas. We tend to spend the cold in bed together."

Bram rolled his eyes as if knowledge of their romantic life wasn't supposed to be known by the general populace, but I smiled. "So do we."

"Oh god," he said. "A mental image I could've died happily without."

"Oh hush, it's romantic," she replied.

We all heard the garage door open and Bram sighed sharply. Valentine regularly did us the favor of housing us when it poured on runs, as the fall made it prone to doing. I guessed it might've still been a work in progress for them to live together, but from what I understood, they were close enough as family. Valentine had sired Gory and his mother, and even though she ran with Bram and carried a completely different name, they must've at the very least seen each other as family. That was the only reasoning I could see behind the two of them letting him move in, even when he took possessive interest of us sometimes.

Rom wandered in eventually, drying off on a car towel and looking at the three of us. "So you just left me to go get soaked, huh?"

I shrugged. "I was getting cold."

He shook his head and sunk to the floor beside me. The heat radiating from his body was nice. I sunk more than happily into his side.

"We're having another Halloween party," Gory said lightly. "If you two come, I promise no one will poison you."

Romulus looked at me as if my word were law. I leaned into his side and smiled, "We would love to."

Instead of listening to the most macabre of musicals, I sunk into Romulus's side and reveled in his claws sweeping softly through my soaking hair. His touch, so tender and warm, made my skin sing. He pressed a tiny, tender kiss to my forehead and allowed me to close my eyes lazily. Sunny, however, had other plans. Now aware of our presence, the too-large puppy leapt onto both of us and immediately showered us in fresh saliva. I laughed and pushed him back, scratching tenderly behind his ear until his foot began to thump.

"He's just like you," I teased. Romulus rolled his eyes and nose-bumped the pup, getting the large kiss he was owed before we were abandoned in favor of his owners.

The rain didn't take long to subside, and when it had I looked up to our friends. It was hard to believe that months ago, just the thought of a vampire being kind to one of ours made the both of us suspicious. "You might want to run back home," she said softly, so not to disturb her dozing other half, "Just leave the towels in the garage. We'll get them in the morning."

"Need anything?" Romulus asked as he rose. He offered his hand, which I denied in favor of pushing myself up on my own.

Gory smiled and slowly shook her head. Her fingers slipped into his hair and guided Bram's head comfortably onto her shoulder. "Go, have fun. We'll see you at school Monday."

Romulus's fingers slipped through mine. I released my nostalgia in a breath and smiled to them. We did as told and left through their garage, our soaking wet friends in tow.

"I could make love to that car," Luken said in passing as he wandered ahead of us.

"I'm sure Valentine would be really happy to hear you say that," Romulus replied jokingly.

The clouds had parted, leaving the silver moonlight to beam down on us. My arm slipped through his and gave a tender squeeze. The pavement glittered with lingering wetness and made everything shine like snow. We split off eventually as we wandered back into town. Each step we took we tried to make slower. We tried not to reach home before the moon had fallen, but it hadn't budged when we reached the end of our block. His entire family seemed still awake while my house was entirely dark. I couldn't help but smile.

"You're staying, right?" he murmured, brushing my hair back and catching my cheek. He drew my attention back and I kissed him gently. "We are. Only so much we can do back in yeti homeland, and sometimes I think Papa just as opposed to going home as me."

He grinned and stole another kiss, "I'm glad."

We weren't promised more than the rest of the year before he graduated, but I knew he would stay. There was a promise of a future in Salem that I didn't have back home. My father wanted me to go to college, to have the opportunities my mother had taken. I didn't know what I wanted yet, but I had the nagging suspicion that it would be spent with the pack.

"Heath and I are going out tomorrow afternoon," I murmured to him. "He wants to see movie Jin does not want to see, and I'm the back up date."

He laughed, but laced his fingers through my own. He stepped off the curb and led me out into the silent streets. "He does know we're exclusive, right?"

I nodded. Each step we took with deliberate slowness. He to his world of late-night fun, and I to my world of attempting to sleep late into the night. I clasped my hands through his even tighter and tugged him close, "If you can promise to be quiet, you can come home with me."

"Aren't you worried about protecting your ladylike image?" he teased.

I motioned him close until he took up my line of vision. My claws caressed his jaw gently. "Do I look like a vampire to you?"

He broke into a wild grin, his eyes glinting like a man possessed. I let my hand drop, meeting his vibrant emerald eyes for only a moment. My bare feet lurched free from the ground as I turned and sprinted toward the house. He laughed and gave chase instantly. I leapt up on the railings, grabbing the gutter and hauling myself onto the perch of roof before launching myself into my room. I clamored over the edge of the window and tumbled onto the floor, laughing wildly as I grabbed the bed. He slid through with more practiced grace and tugged the window shut behind us. My pulse was thumping with absolute glee.

We stood in the darkness with our chests heaving for a moment. The moon hardly pierced the darkness of my bedroom, but he knew the way to me regardless. His hand rested at my hip and he tugged me closer, gently nuzzling into my neck. I slid my arms around his neck. Our noses brushed in welcome contact, darkened eyes meeting darkened eyes. I slid my fingers into his beautiful curls and kissed his lips.

"I love you," he murmured against my lips.

I tugged him down onto my bed with me. The both of us crumpled in our semi-dry clothes, tangled in the sheets and each other's grip. I laughed into his neck and gave his skin a gentle nip. Something cool was slipped onto my finger and I dropped my gaze to meet the sparkling gems.

"I know it won't be the first or the last time you of all people wears white, but...I told you I was gonna do it before graduation, didn't I?"

My breath caught. It wasn't an ordinary ring, I knew that right away. It spread a measure of coolness over my skin to the point where I had to release myself from his grip to stare at it under the slight moonlight.  
It was made of the same crystals as my crystal. The crystals only found in our homeland.

I glanced to him with a lump in my throat. He smiled, taking my hand gently between his, "Your dad helped."

"He knows?" I whispered.

He nodded. I swallowed the thickness of emotion and linked my fingers very gently through his, "Then there is only one thing to do." He waited for a moment before realizing he hadn't even asked. He scrambled off the bed and dropped to his knee before me, "Abbey Bominable, you put up with me this long. Would you do me the honor of putting up with me for a very long time to come?"

I admired the delicate little ring on my finger and met his eyes. He waited expectantly, fearing even though he knew what my answer would be. I shrugged, "Eh, I could do worse."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, "Because there's really any better around here?"

I laughed and tugged him up to me by the collar of his shirt, "Not really, no. Is why I am choosing you."

He rolled his eyes in silent understanding and kissed me grudgingly. We could tease each others' egos as much as we like, but he knew at the end of the day I didn't choose him because he was the best in Salem. I chose him because I loved him. Wolf or yeti, huge family or tiny one, his pack of mine, I loved Romulus Moon and I trusted him enough to bring me happiness. At the very least, I trusted him enough to keep me out of any more little wars.

Instead of dashing off to wake up my parents, I shifted to make sure that Shiver was fast asleep before releasing him. "Shut the curtain," I whispered.

He grinned, "You're gonna make every night my wedding night, aren't you?"

I pretended to be exasperated. "I wanted to sleep in, but no. Boy always think with brain that is not in his head."

He pulled shut the curtain and I watched his eyes take on their nightshine glow. "Abbey, you're a really crappy liar. Let's get that out of the way before we worry about other wedding revelations."

I flashed him a pearly smile; of course I knew. I hadn't tried. He met my eyes and crossed the room in silence. His warm skin touched mine. If it was possible, I fell a little more in love with him.

It was a very silly thing in my old village to be so sentimental. Now I understood why they tried to be so tough. Words were not enough to express real love; there was no language with a great enough vocabulary to describe how I felt about Romulus Moon. Except maybe werewolf. I could howl quite a bit in werewolf.

**The End**


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